DARLENE SAGA: PARTS 17 TO 22
by Storyseeker
Summary: The Venes make a new ally, one that causes a lot of problems for the clan, but is it really their enemy?
1. Draco: PART 17

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

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**Previously On Gargoyles: -**

_Goliath sighed, as there was nothing else he could do now until Xanatos contacted the other Illumaniti, and dawn was fast approaching. He would have to sleep soon, and then he would wake up tomorrow, healed and refreshed. Some of that gave him some comfort. _

_Goliath embraced his wife warmly, and Elisa gave in to his affection. _

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_Goliath nodded in thanks. "Elisa, I'm more than grateful for your help, but you don't have to chase after your brother for us. I know this must be hard for you." _

_Elisa sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't rather be doing something else other than that, but… I'm a police officer, Goliath. I took an oath to uphold the law, and protect the innocent. If I weren't to do everything in my power to find Brent, then that would mean my oath meant nothing." _

_Goliath embraced her, knowing how much this pained her. "I understand," he said _knowingly. _"Just know that you have my full support, as well as that of the whole_ _clan, our understanding, and… my love." _

_Elisa kissed him. "That is all in the world that I want." She said gratefully. _

"_Goliath?" Owen's crisp voice suddenly sounded to them. _

_Goliath and Elisa turned to see the major-domo looking at him, with his almost emotionless stare. "What is it?" Goliath asked rather abruptly. _

_Owen raised an eyebrow. "I apologise for interrupting, but Mr Xanatos thought you might like to know that he has finally got in touch with his Illumaniti contact, who has given him the information you require for locating the thief known as Lightning, also known as Brent Maza."_

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**And Now, The Continuation: -**

**The Eyrie; Sunset: **

The sun's rays disappeared behind the tall skyscrapers, and Goliath's roar filled the sky, as he awoke from his slumber.

"Sleep well?" Elisa's voice greeted him.

Goliath smiled, as he turned to face his wife. "I will rest better, once I have information on the whereabouts of Lightning…" He stopped, as he quickly remembered that Lightning was also Elisa's brother, his brother-in-law.

"Elisa, I'm sorry," he said honestly.

"It's okay, Goliath." Elisa hurried to reassure him. "I told you. I love my brother, but… I can't condone what he's done, and what he's continuing to do. Xanatos told me that… Lightning, as he calls himself now, has done more thefts, and international burglaries than Broadway's had hot dinners."

Elisa wiped her eyes, supposedly from the wind, but Goliath knew better.

"If there's any chance to get through to him, to get him to stop what he's doing," she continued. "Then I'll do it in a heartbeat, but… If the worse comes to worse, I'll do what has to be done, and bring him in. I'm a cop, Goliath. I took an oath long ago to uphold the law… even if that means bringing in one of my own family."

Goliath nodded, stroking her face lovingly. He sometimes forgot how alike he and Elisa were. They were both sworn to honour and uphold the laws and traditions of their kinds, no matter what the cost.

"Come on," she finally said. "Xanatos is waiting for us in his office. He has information about Brent."

Goliath hopped down from his perch, and followed her.

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**Brent's Penthouse: **

"Yes, that is all the information I have." Brent sighed into the telephone. "I would tell you more if I had any, but at the time, I was more inclined to running for my life."

Sash listened to Brent's conversation on the phone, interested, while she pretended to read a magazine.

"Yes, it is all very detailed, but I can't promise that it will be effective for you," Brent continued. "Well, now that I went through most of their security measures, they're bound to upgrade them. Therefore, I can't promise you'll have it so easy, as I did." He added sarcastically.

After a few moments, Brent gave another exasperated sigh, said thank you, and hung up.

"Bosses weren't too happy, I'm guessing?" Sash asked him, as he sat down.

"About as happy as a cat in a dog pound," he replied, and took out a cigarette. "They didn't mind that I didn't rob them of anything, since they weren't going to keep it anyway. But they were pissed off that I didn't go through all of their security systems, to find their weak spot."

"Still, you got through most of them," Sash pointed out. "You got out without getting caught. That's got to count for something?"

"Yeah," Brent moaned. "No treasure, and only half of what they promised me."

"Damn! That's outrageous!" she nearly screeched, always angry at loosing money.

Brent gave her a sideways glance. "We've got more than enough for the moment," he pointed out. "I'm sure I'll be getting another client before the end of the week, if not today. In the meantime, I'm gonna play it cool, and try to stay out of the spotlight till the heat cools down."

Sash grumbled. "So, did they say what they're gonna do now? I mean your sister is living with those freaks up there, so… How do you feel about that?"

Brent gave her a hard look. "Like I told you before," he said quietly. "As far as I'm concerned, my family is all, but dead to me. What happens to them is no longer my concern."

Sash stayed quiet for a moment, but then just shrugged, and went back to reading her magazine.

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"Damn idiot!" Cecile growled, as she slammed the phone down.

As she strode back to her room, she heard the roar of her 'lover', as he awoke from his stone sleep.

"CECILE!" Thailog's anger filled roar reached her ears.

Cecile smiled, and walked into her room, where Thailog was strapped to her bed, naked.

"How the hell did you get me into this position, when I was asleep?" he demanded.

Cecile grinned, as she watched how his tail and buttocks bobbed up and down, while he struggled to free himself. "I thought it would make a change to the way you usually wake up," she said casually.

Thailog glared at her, through his crimson red eyes.

"But we've got more important thing to worry about now," she said, and snapped her fingers. The second she did that, the cords that bound Thailog, snapped open and he fell back onto the floor, on his rump, with a bump.

"What is it this time?" Thailog asked. Cecile was beginning to become more open with him. Since he couldn't do anything directly to her, she saw no harm in revealing bits and pieces of her plans, assuming of course she ever had any to truly begin with.

"Lightning got the information" she explained, "but didn't manage to go through all of the security systems, like we asked. Something must have got in the way!"

"Why do you say that?" Thailog asked, as he searched for his clothes.

"Lightning's never gotten a job half or even remotely half wrong," Cecile speculated. "That means that he must have come face to face with something that he truly wasn't expecting?" She pondered this for a moment. "Maybe it's time I dive a little deeper into Lightning's past, find out if there's anything in Xanatos's fortress that's connected to him?"

"Don't you know anything about him?" Thailog said, slightly startled that the Venes would know nothing about one of their own agents.

Cecile shrugged. "My father found him living on the streets. He had had something done to him that was killing him. My father saw the potential he had, and wanted to use that potential for his own purposes. So we helped him, healed him, gave him abilities to further his own goals, and in turn do jobs for us. But before that, we know nothing else. We know absolutely nothing about where he came from, who his real identity is, or anything else!"

"Must be frustrating to not know something about your own employee?" Thailog snidely asked.

Cecile gave him a hard look. "It never held any purpose for us to know anything about him, before we met him." She replied. "But now, we have other issues. We know something about their security anyway, but not nearly enough to go through their entire building without them discovering us."

Cecile went over to a chest, at the foot of the bed, opened it, and began filtering through all the countless items that were stored up in it.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, as she pulled out a small tooth-like item, up in her hand. "Just the thing!"

"What is it?" Thailog peered at it curiously.

"A dragon's tooth." She revealed, as she began pulling up the carpet of the hotel room.

"Going to be summoning a dragon?" he asked, only half kidding.

"Actually, no," she replied. "I already did that, even if it was only an illusion."

Thailog blinked a few times, but said nothing.

"Actually," she continued, smiling, as she took a chalk and started drawing numerous symbols and drawings on the floor. "This time, I'm going to go visit one."

"Visit?"

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**Destine Manor: **

Lana moaned a little, in peace, as Gabriel worked out the knots in her shoulders and back, pressing down on them with his claws, massaging the pain away.

"Mmmm," she murmured.

"Do I take that's to your fancy?" he asked teasingly, as he applied more pressure to her back.

Lana smiled. "More than you could ever know," she replied, and before Gabriel could answer, he yelped, as Lana's tail swirled behind him, and whipped him on his backside.

"Hey!"

Lana laughed.

"Everything all right here?" The voice of Lana's mother asked, from the doorway.

Lana jumped up, and Gabriel leapt back a few metres, as Darlene looked at them.

"Mom, I… !" Lana began surprised.

"We were just…" Gabriel explained.

"It's all right," Darlene attempted to calm them. "I don't have anything against massages… Depending on what you're massaging of course."

Lana blushed. "Mom!"

Darlene smiled. "Look, I'm not here to embarrass the two of you. I'm just here to tell you that I'm going out for the next couple of hours."

"Oh," Lana suddenly looked interested. "Where you going?"

Darlene lost her smile. "Griff has asked me to go gliding with him. Your grandmother's looking after Gem and Jarred."

Lana lost her smile for a second, but then put it back on again. "That's great. I hope you'll have a good time together."

Darlene looked at her daughter for some moments, then turned to look at Gabriel. "Gabriel, May I have a few moments alone with my daughter?" she asked him.

Gabriel nodded, and excused himself from the room.

"Lana?" Darlene began hesitantly. "Are you okay with this? With me seeing someone else?"

Lana sighed a little, and sat down. "Mom…" she started unsure. "I gotta be honest. When you first told me that Griff was putting the charms on you, I was hesitant to say the least. Even now, I can't think of you with anyone else besides dad."

Darlene nodded. "I know it's hard. But, honey… Please understand that it's been almost a year now since your dad… Since we lost him. I do still love him, and I always will, but… I can't close up my heart forever, Lana. I need to fill it with love."

Darlene then pranced over to her eldest, and wrapped her arms around her. "Know this, no matter who I date, no one can ever replace your father! He was one of a kind, one whom I was extremely proud to be mated with. I'm only sorry to have lost him so soon."

Lana hugged her mother back.

"I won't go out with Griff, if you don't want me to, Lana?" Darlene asked her honestly.

"No, mom." Lana pushed her back. "I do like Griff. I really do. Like I said, I wasn't exactly comfortable with the fact that you were dating someone, but… I know now I can't expect you to be a loner for the rest of your life. No one wants to stay barren forever."

Darlene blinked a little at her words, but thanked her still. "Thank you, Lana."

She looked at her daughter closely. Part of her didn't want to leave her alone, as she was still recovering from her ordeal from Thailog. The spell that Demona had placed on her, suppressing the nightmares she had been having, had done wonders. Since Lana had been getting a good day's sleep at last, she had slowly started getting her life back in order again.

Gabriel's constant visits were also having a positive effect. Despite her own mother's reservations about him, Darlene was happy that Lana had found someone. She hoped that having a Gargoyle boyfriend would also give her the incitement she needed to consider remaining a Gargoyle permanently.

"So you're really all right with me seeing Griff?" Darlene checked with her daughter again.

Lana looked exasperated at her. "Maybe not 100%, but… I'm close."

Darlene embraced her child again. "Thanks, Lana!"

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**Bedford Hotel; Broadway: **

Cecile finished drawing the symbols on the floor, and stood back.

"Where are Damien and Nathan?" she enquired about her brothers.

Thailog shrugged. "Probably changing more of the hotel staff into animals." He said truthfully.

Cecile shrugged. "As long as they keep it to a minimum. For now, I got bigger fish to fry." She stepped into the circle, which she had drawn around the symbols, with the Dragon's Tooth in her hand, and signalled for him to do the same.

Thailog growled lowly, but did as he was told.

The second he stepped into the circle, Cecile began chanting. Only the language in which she spoke in, was not Latin, as she usually spoke in, when casting a spell. Thailog wasn't sure what it was. Despite all the vast knowledge that Xanatos had programmed him with, foreign languages were still a puzzle to him.

Cecile ended her chant, and threw the Dragon's Tooth to the floor.

There was a sort of cracking sound, making Thailog believe that the tooth had shattered upon impact. However, he never had the chance to look, as no sooner had the tooth hit the floor, a bright flash blinded him, and a strong wind filled the room. It didn't lift him or anything, but the wind seemed to pull him from side to side.

Thailog resisted the urge to dig his claws into the floor, to keep him from falling, as he was not willing to humiliate himself in front of the Vene girl.

Finally, the wind died down, and Thailog once more resisted the urge to heave a sigh of relief. Eventually, his sight started to return, as he blinked away the few spots from his eyes. But once he did, he got a shock when he saw where they were.

"What the…?" Thailog began, staring in amazement. The hotel penthouse, where they had once been, was now gone. In its place, they were inside what seemed like a huge cavern.

As Thailog took in his surroundings, he observed the cave walls, and noticed that they were decorated with bones. At first he grew uneasy, because the bones and skeletons that littered the place had wings, and he feared that they might have been Gargoyles. But upon closer inspection, he saw that the bones were far too large to have been Gargoyles.

Heaving another sigh of relief, he realised that these remains must be that of Dragons, seeing as that was what Cecile had apparently come to visit, as she said.

"Feel better?" Cecile asked, without looking at him, and without any genuine interest. After a mere second, without waiting for an answer from him, she quickly walked on ahead. "Well, come on! I haven't got all eternity."

Thailog frowned at her back, but walked after her. "Is this some sort of Dragon's graveyard?" he asked his warden.

Cecile gave him a sneer. "Gee, whatever made you think that?" she said sarcastically.

Thailog didn't react to that one, as he was becoming used to her antics now. "Do Dragon's just leave their dead lying around?" he asked, ignoring her insult.

Cecile shrugged. "Not usually, I believe. However, when all of them die out, and there's only one left, I guess he wouldn't have the strength to heave all these bodies away?"

Thailog looked mildly shocked. "There's only one Dragon left?" In truth, he wasn't really surprised, as it wasn't as if he had seen many Dragons in the real world, but then again, not many people had seen Gargoyles, yet he was one, and he knew full well that there were others.

Cecile smiled cruelly. "They served their time."

"Pardon?" he asked, not understanding. "What do you mean their time? Were they imprisoned here by someone?"

Cecile laughed. "Hardly, my lovely bitch. _This_ is the Dragon's home dimension. It is their home, where they come from. Only a few of them have ever left here, over the centuries, and gone into our world. Some do it voluntarily, others are summoned by sorcerers or such."

"Is that why you're here then?" Thailog began to understand. "To summon a Dragon?"

Cecile snorted. "If I could, I would have just done it from my hotel room, but no! As I said, there's only one Dragon left now. He should've past his time long ago, but due to… unfortunate circumstances, he's been unable to rest."

"Rest?" Thailog enquired. "You mean die?"

Cecile nodded. "It's complicated, but to make a long story short… Well, how about I wait and let you figure it out, as we go along?"

Thailog was about to reply, but before he could, a loud shuddering shook the cavern.

Thailog and Cecile both stopped in their tracks. Only Cecile didn't seem afraid, which didn't bring much comfort to Thailog.

A second later, another shudder rocked the walls of the cave, but still Cecile did not waver, and stayed standing where she was.

With each shudder that grew closer and closer, Thailog swallowed the lump of fear that was forming in his throat, wondering what kind of Dragon he was going to meet.

He got his answer in less than another two seconds, when the Dragon in question came around the corner.

It was bigger than The Midguard Serpent, as high as the town hall, with a tail that swung like an electric cable, snapping at everything it came into contact with. Its scales were dark golden brown, with countless horns and spikes growing across its hide.

At first look, Thailog was inclined to flee, but as he observed the creature closer, he noticed its eyes. Although the creature had the aura of a malevolent and terrifying monster, its eyes were something different. Its eyes had a tired look that looked as if they hadn't slept in centuries, seemingly sad and depressed, as though the centuries had battered down its spirit.

"Draco!" Cecile addressed the Dragon. "I assume it is Draco, isn't it? Unless you Dragons have changed the name of your leaders since the last time your kind and mine interacted?"

The Dragon peered at the little human girl, seemingly sizing her up.

'Hopefully for dinner.' Thailog hoped.

"I am Draco the 7764th." The Dragon announced. Its voice was loud and clear, but like its eyes, it too had a strained sound to it.

Cecile took a few steps up to the Dragon lord. "Once the ceremony was complete, a new generation of Dragons would be born… or hatched, as that's the case. The first egg would one day be the future leader of your kind. Once he reached full maturity, you die, he gets your power, and the whole thing starts all over again."

Draco didn't say anything, and just continued to stare right at her.

"That is the way it's been, for as long as anyone can remember," Cecile got a cruel look in her eye. "But it's not anymore, is it?"

Thailog could definitely see a tear in the great beast's eyes now. Though, at the moment, he didn't know whether it was from despair, or from rage at Cecile, something which Thailog could understand all too well.

"You were the last Dragon leader," Cecile smirked. "The last chosen ones were supposed to have come to you, more than five hundred years ago. With one of them, you would have spawned the next generation, and when the time came for your firstborn to come of age, he would take your place, and you would rest. Only they didn't come, did they?"

Draco looked down at his feet. "We waited, and waited… " he spoke brokenly, his voice choked. "But they never came. As time past, each of our kind withered and died, but not me. I had to stand by and watch as my whole race was brought to extinction, and even now, now that they're all gone, I cannot even join them."

"Because one of the great powers that a Dragon lord has is immortality." Cecile grinned. "After all, a Dragon lord is the centre of the whole Dragon race, their life and power. Without him, they are literally nothing, so it makes sense that he has the most power, including eternal life. So nothing will happen to him, until the next lord comes to be, and takes it from him, and the same with that new lord. The Dragons never loose their leader, and everyone's happy."

Draco gave a small smile on his Dragon snout. "Your family must make great teachers?"

Cecile shrugged. "They have their moments." She walked back, and leaned against Thailog, as though he was a tree. While she did so, her hand made its way to his loincloth, caressing him.

Thailog growled, partly in pleasure, partly in rage at being humiliated once again. It bad enough she did this in the privacy of their Hotel quarters, but to do it in public was enough to make his blood boil.

"From what I hear, the people who served as your emissaries to the mortal world, were all killed when other Humans came to their land." She gave a short laugh. "Gotta love Human evolution, don't you? No matter what the history books say, Chris Columbus was no angel. Same thing goes to the Spaniards, and the English. Soon as they got whiff of some gold that the natives were keeping, they just had to have it, and were willing to do anything to get it."

Cecile inspected her nails. "Rest of the story, basically all your Human friends got slaughtered, or sold into slavery. None of them remained, hence no more chosen ones, no new generation for your people, and here you are, all alone."

Draco stared into the young Vene's eyes. "What… is it you have for me?" he asked.

Cecile turned serious then, as it was clear Draco was interested, and was tired on the games and history lesson. "As you can plainly see," she explained, "I have the power to bring myself and others to your world. Join with me, and I'll bring you your chosen ones."

Draco's eyes lit up. "You can do this?"

Cecile smiled, and nodded. "I'll pick the strongest ones I can find. With them, you can make your final judgements, and then do, whatever it is you Dragons do, with your final chosen one. In return, you give me your firstborn."

"What?" Draco looked horrified. "I can't do that! Even if you can bring me what you promise me, I could never give away the first egg of the new generation. For only he can succeed me, and only he, unless he were to die."

"I can assure you," Cecile added darkly. "If he fails us, you won't have a problem of finding another successor. Chances are he will either die serving us, or… "

Draco snarled viciously at her. "If this is your idea of trying to get me to co-operate with you, then you desperately need to work on your diplomacy!"

Cecile laughed. "Tell me, O great Dragon king! What other choice do you have? In case you've forgotten, aside from me, you haven't had that many visitors, no one knows of you in the outside world, no one that cares anyway. Face it! I'm your only chance." Cecile walked back up to him. "Without me, you'll be spending eternity in this empty world, with no hope, no future. Only an endless existence of having no one to commune with, but the walls."

Draco remained silent for a few minutes. Thailog began to wonder if he would ever answer, but Cecile didn't seem in any hurry to leave. Finally, he spoke.

"If you vow to me," Draco spoke quietly, but seriously, "once you are finished with my first hatched, if he still lives, you'll return him to me, then… we have a deal?"

Cecile turned her head for a moment, grinning at Thailog. "Deal!" she replied.

"But!" Draco suddenly said. "I don't trust you, Veneficus. I never will, so if you want this deal to take place, you must make the oath. The same one that your ancestors made to us long ago."

Cecile rolled her eyes. "Oh God, not the old sacred Veneficus oath. Powerful magic, honour… "

"And eternally binding words," Draco finished for her.

Cecile smiled slowly at her newfound partner in her war with the Manhattan Gargoyles. "You're good, Draco," she said truthfully. "I can see you're gonna be a hoot to work with."

Draco didn't answer, and just stood waiting for her.

"Oh, all right!" Cecile said exasperated, and drew out a short penknife from her pocket.

Thailog watched, as she slid out the blade, and made a small insertion on her right thumb.

"With the blood of my ancestors," Cecile spoke, as the blood welled up in her thumb. She spoke simply, yet in a commanding way, "by the magic of our family, all that runs through my veins. I take this oath to uphold that, which I swear to forever remain loyal to. In exchange for that, which I promise, the first son whom I shall take, I will return, once my war with those who threaten my existence, reaches its end."

Draco's eye ridges rose slightly, at Cecile's words, but he said nothing.

"Satisfied now?" Cecile asked the Dragon king.

Draco nodded. "When will you bring the chosen ones?"

Cecile shrugged. "I still have to choose who I'm going to bring. I already have at least one person in mind, but I have yet to decide on the other two. I will inform you when I have made my decision."

At Draco's unsure look, she added. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they're strong capably spirits. Just the way you Dragons like them, right?"

Draco nodded, but still looked unsure of what he had just done. "I need to go prepare things then," he said, and turned to leave.

As Cecile and Thailog watched him depart, his thunderous steps slowly diminishing into the darkness of the caves, Cecile sighed.

"Business transactions are always such a bitch," she said, and then looked to her love slave. "Wouldn't you agree, my bitch?"

Thailog didn't respond, but just looked at her, for once, more interested than angry. "I'm confused. You're making another deal with another mystical being… but what about the one you've already made with that goddess? Shouldn't she be enough?"

Cecile frowned. "Goddesses are highly tricky. They say they'll help you, and then you never hear from them again. Most times, they mean what they say, but Gods are immortal, and immortals have a hard time trying to keep to our concept of time. They might decide to put it off for a while, and when they finally get around to it, it's actually a thousand years later. So I'm not taking any chances."

Thailog nodded, but still had more questions. "You say Draco needs one of three people so that he can bring a new generation of Dragons forth. How exactly does that work? I mean, what precisely does he need the three for? I mean, does he want them for a sacrifice or something?"

Cecile laughed. "Hardly!" she gave Thailog a sympathetic look, unfitting for her. "You really don't know anything much about Dragons, do you?"

Thailog shrugged. "It wasn't in my programming."

Cecile smiled. "Dragons are an all male race… He requires three _female_ humans. Does that answer your question?"

Thailog blanched at her.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Perspectives: PART 18

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

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_**Previously on Gargoyles: -**_

"_Come on," she finally said. "Xanatos is waiting for us in his office. He has information about Brent." _

_Goliath hopped down from his perch, and followed her._

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"_I am Draco the 7764th." The Dragon announced. Its voice was loud and clear, but like its eyes, it too had a strained sound to it. _

"_I require one of your Dragons for my service." She said simply. _

_Draco growled, though it was more like thunder when he did it. "There is absolutely nothing you could have that could interest me, devil woman!" he turned to leave from whence he had come. _

"_Not even release?" she called out to him. _

_Draco stopped. _

"_I know of your kind," Cecile saw she had spiked his interest. "My family schools its young well. There were once many of your kind here, so many that they filled the skies of this reality, but only one leader. That leader was the firstborn Dragon of every new generation of Dragons, like you." _

_Cecile turned serious then, as it was clear Draco was interested, and was tired on the games and history lesson. "As you can plainly see," she explained, "I have the power to bring myself and others to your world. Join with me, and I'll bring you your chosen ones." _

_Draco nodded. "When will you bring the chosen ones?" _

_Cecile shrugged. "I still have to choose who I'm going to bring. I already have at least one person in mind, but I have yet to decide on the other two. I will inform you when I have made my decision." _

_At Draco's unsure look, she added. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they're strong capably spirits. Just the way you Dragons like them, right?" _

_Draco nodded, but still looked unsure of what he had just done. "I need to go prepare things then," he said, and turned to leave. _

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**And Now, The Continuation: -**

**Eyrie Building: **

Goliath entered Xanatos's office, where Xanatos was even now communicating with someone of the telephone. He was on the phone for no more than a few seconds, before placing the receiver down, and greeting the huge Gargoyle.

"Sleep well, Goliath?" he smiled charmingly.

"What have you find out about…" he hesitated, not quite sure of who to refer the thief to as. Whether it should be as 'Lightning' the hired thief, the Vene's ally, or Brent, Elisa's brother.

Fortunately, Elisa stepped in and asked the question anyway. "What have you found out about Lightning?" she simply asked.

Xanatos shrugged. "At first, nothing that we didn't really know already. Guy was living on the streets, Sevarius needed test subjects so that he could improve the Metamorphosis formula, Brent volunteered, got changed, should have died, but some how, he didn't."

"And what else?" Elisa frowned impatiently.

Xanatos leaned forward a little. "Well, as I said, he should have died, since the experiments down on him caused severe damage to his cell structure. Obviously, he must have had help from someone, but the big question is who and how? Sevarius reports that even he would have had no chance to undoing the damage that was done to Brent, so he's at a loss as to whoever cured him, were able to do so."

"So what does that mean?" Elisa asked, already impatient.

Xanatos held up a hand. "Patience, detective. There's something else too. While we were going over the reports from the security officers who faced Brent, we discovered something. Apparently, Brent was able to conduct lightning energy through the floor, enough to electrocute my men. Now, it is true that there are steel rods, that are used to reinforce the concrete in my building, but… that wouldn't have been nearly enough to electrify my guards."

"So?" Goliath frowned.

"So…" Xanatos tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It means that whatever energy Brent was using to knock out my guards with, whatever it was, it wasn't electricity, like the Mutates use. That leaves me with only one other possibly explanation, and that's sorcery."

"Magic?" Elisa gasped. "That's impossible! How could Brent have ever learned magic, and from who?"

"Well," Xanatos began, "Who's to say how many sorcerers and magicians there are in the world? I used to think Demona was the only one, but now I hear there are Australian shamans, Fairies, Magus's, and a dozen others. And since you haven't heard from your brother in a few years, who knows what he's been doing, and who he's met on the streets in that time?"

Goliath nodded, accepting this logic, while Elisa simply looked haunted by visions of what her brother had been through, and what he was doing right now.

"Have you been able to find any trace of where he could be now?" Goliath asked Xanatos.

Xanatos nodded. "It took some doing, but I finally managed to convince one of the Illumaniti to help. Brent, or Lightning as he's better known as, has a contact number. It _was_ untraceable to begin with. He made sure that no one would be able to find him, but… Well, nobody outside the Illumaniti truly knows of our technology, or what we can do." He grinned at the last statement.

"Have you found him?" Elisa repeated Goliath's question.

Xanatos nodded. "We know of a few places where he could be."

"Could be?"

Xanatos shrugged. "Seems that Brent has made a comfortable living for himself. He's known to be quite the young thief. Most of the Illumaniti has hired him at one time or another, as he's never failed at a mission… at least not before he came to my building of course. Anyway, with all the wealth he has made, he has quite a few properties lying about. The society has discovered a couple of addresses where he lives, here in New York."

Goliath took a step forward. "Give us the places." He simply said. Part of him wanted to get going, and find out all that this thief knew, but at the same time he dreaded going, as he knew that this couldn't be easy for his wife, them going after her own brother and all. All of this reminded Goliath of when Coldstone had left, how he had feared for his brother's safety, never knowing how he was doing, and what personality was currently possessing him.

Xanatos reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to him.

"Goliath?" Elisa touched Goliath's shoulder with her bandaged hand, still recovering from the demon snakebite. "May I come with you?"

"Elisa, I… " Goliath began, but stopped when he saw the near pleading look in his wife's eyes.

After a silent moment, Goliath sighed and nodded.

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**Destine Manor: **

Demona sat with her granddaughter, Gem, in her lap, reading her stories that she herself had written down, centuries ago. They were tales from her clan, stories that the clan elders had past down throughout the ages. When her clan had been destroyed, the first thing she had done, was gather all the paper and ink she could find, and write down every story she had ever heard from her elders.

"Dragie!" Gem giggled, and pointed at the small, crudely drawn, picture on the paper her grandmother was holding.

Demona smiled. "Yes, Gem," she said softly. "That is a dragon. Legend has it that once, long ago; a dragon came to Wyvern in need of help. It had been summoned to our world by a wicked sorcerer who…"

Just then, her ears pricked up, as she heard someone landing on her balcony. She hesitated only for a moment, her warrior skills ready in the event of an enemy, before she relaxed, hearing the voices of her daughter, Darlene, and her 'date', Griff.

"Thank you for the night out, Griff," she heard Darlene thanking the WW2 Gargoyle, followed by what could only be a kiss.

Demona frowned, as she heard Griff respond to the kiss with one of his own. She still didn't like the fact her daughter was seeing someone else, even if he was a fellow Gargoyle. If he just wasn't obsessed with serving that human, Arthur, and protecting the rest of the Human species, then she might consider getting to know him.

Demons sighed, knowing deep down that what she felt didn't really matter. Darlene was capable of making her own decisions, and she was strong enough to act on them. She had proven that already by running off with that Human, Paul Anderson.

Suddenly, Gem started wailing, and Demona realised that she had been holding her too tightly.

"Hush, child," Demona tried to soothe her. The mere thought of the man, who had stolen her daughter away from her, still drove her mad from time to time. She had better sense than to admit it out-loud, as she knew her daughter would never forgive her, and she was sure her grandchildren wouldn't appreciate it either. So she kept her mouth shut, and decided to bear her rage alone, a very unusual trait for Demona.

As Demona thought that, she realised just how much she had changed since her daughter's family had come to stay with her. When Darlene had first reappeared and revealed to her how she had come to be still alive, and now with children, Demona had at first wanted to slay her own child. The thought that she had tricked her into believing she was dead, making her suffer all these years, when all along she had been shacked up with a Human of all things, after she had spent years teaching Darlene of all the evil their kind had done to theirs.

'Just goes to show how little children pay attention to their parents,' she grumbled silently.

The balcony door opened, and Darlene walked in with Griff close behind her.

Demona forced a smile on, as she welcomed them in. "How was your night out, daughter?"

Darlene smiled brightly. "Wonderful!" she answered. "I showed him all the sights in New York, and he never once showed any signs of boredom."

Griff smiled. "No one in their right mind could ever find you boring, Miss Darlene."

Demona resisted an urge to roll her eyes at the obvious come-on, but Darlene seemed to enjoy his compliment, and smiled at him.

"How were the kids tonight?" Darlene asked, taking Gem in her arms.

Demona shrugged. "Lana is off again with Gabriel, for a glide. Jarred is in his room, studying, and Gem has just spent the last hour listening to me, tell stories."

"Oh, the same ones you told me once?" Darlene asked with interest. She had tried telling those same stories to her children, but had never been able to remember the exact words to them, as she didn't have the papers on which they were written.

Demona nodded. "The same."

Gem gurgled happily at her mother, cuddling up to her, under her neck.

"Has she had her bottle yet?" Darlene asked her mother.

Demons shook her head. "I was just about to go get it."

"No need," Darlene made her way to the kitchen. "I'll do it."

"I'll help," Griff offered.

"No," Darlene held her hand out to him. "Stay here and talk with mother. I'm sure she'll be glad of the company."

Demona looked up rather sharply. "I assure you that won't be…"

"I insist!" Darlene replied, just as sharply. "I'm sure the two of you will get along fine." It was obvious that she wasn't intending to let this one go. She knew Demona didn't get along with anyone, but she was damn well going to try and get her to like this one.

As she left for the kitchen, Griff sat down on the chair opposite Demona and smiled at her joyfully. "So, I hear you've been around a long time?"

Demona sighed, not really looking him in the eye. "You could say that."

"Were you anywhere near London during World War 2, just out of interest?" Griff asked honestly.

Demona groaned.

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**Brent's Penthouse Apartment: **

"Damn it!" Sash's angry voice yelled out.

"What now?" Brent asked, not really interested.

"Ran out of English Sherry again!" she fumed. "I told you we should have got 3 bottles worth."

"Not all of us are alcoholics, Sash," Brent said, as he looked over the newspaper he was reading. He smiled briefly at the small headline, stating that no leads had been found yet for the burglary of the mayor's house. That had been Brent's job last week, one that he had been most happy to do, as the mayor was nothing more than a ponz who cared more for money, parties and pleasure then the welfare of the city and its people.

'What is it with politicians?' he thought. 'They're all as bad as each other.'

Just then, the phone rang. He picked up the receiver, wondering what job he was wanted for now, and who wanted him for it? Not that he ever learned the identities of his employers, with the exception of the Venes. Worst thing about being a professional thief for hire is that none of your bosses ever take the time to get to know you.

"Hello… Yes… What's your business?" He listened to the disguised voice at the other end. "Yeah, I've heard of it. When do you want it…? When?… No, no problem. I'll do it tonight, but you do realise that at such short notice, my fee is double?… Well, if you feel that way, you can always hire someone else, but I guarantee you won't find anyone with my service record… Thought you might feel that way… Try calling me in a few hours from now and I'll let you know when and where you can pick up the merchandise. Just be sure to have my money all ready, either in unmarked cash, or paid straight into my bank account, no exceptions. I'll give you all the details later."

After replacing the receiver, Brent stretched out his arms and then got up. "Sash? Looks like I'm out again for the night. Told you it wouldn't be long before I was working again. On the plus side, I can stop by the nearest liquor store on the way back and get you your Sherry."

Sash walked in, munching on a bag of chips. "Pick up some beer too while you're at it."

"Anything for you, my love," Brent sneered sarcastically at her.

0000000000

**One Hour Later: **

Goliath soared the skies with his wife in his arms. Behind him, Brooklyn and Lexington were close behind. The rest had stayed behind to protect the castle.

Elisa looked down at the paper that Xanatos had given them with the addresses of Brent's homes. So far they had checked out two apartments, and one house, but all had been empty. They were on their way now to another apartment, in the upper class region of New York City.

"Seems Brent has done well for himself," Elisa mused, looking down at the flash neighbourhoods and the high-class apartment building they were approaching. She would have been impressed, if she didn't know that Brent had acquired all his wealth through thievery.

"What number is the apartment?" Goliath asked, as he prepared to make a landing.

Elisa checked. "Number 616. It says here it's on the top floor, on the east side, so we should… " She paused. "Goliath!" she hissed. "Look." She pointed ahead of them, to the top windows of their headed building. "The lights are on in there."

Goliath thinned his eyes. "Are you sure they're coming from the right apartment?"

"Positive."

Goliath nodded his head, and then signalled for the others to follow him. "Get ready, but be prepared. Elisa's brother has proven that he is capable of taking care of himself."

Brooklyn and Lexington nodded, and prepared to land.

0000000000

Sash scoffed down the last of the chips, and was about to get up to get a drink, when…

_CRASH! _

Sash dropped the empty bag and spun around, only to scream when she saw what had caused the crashing noise.

It was something, which she could only describe as the devil himself. It was just like the pictures she had seen as a kid, all red with horns, tail, wings and claws. The only surprising feature she saw was that it had a beak instead of a mouth, and it had white hair curled up all over its back.

The beast turned its beak in the air, sniffing around, then stopped, as it must have caught her scent. The monster turned its head to her, and growled warningly.

"Oh crap," was all Sash could say. Suddenly, another lower sounding crash thundered through the apartment, and she saw a small green goblin-like monster roll into the room. It rolled over the floor, came to a stop and leapt onto its four legs, snarling ferociously.

After a few seconds, Sash blinked a few times before she finally asked, "You're not from the IRS are you?"

Brooklyn and Lexington stared at her, then at each other. Sash was about to try and make a run for the door, when another even more terrifying monster came in. This one was even larger than the other two put together. It looked like a giant statue of granite, its muscles gigantic, and its face, although without a beak and no pointy horns, it was more frightening than either of them, as it growled at her with a terrible scowl on its face.

As she looked further, she noticed that it had a woman in its arms. At first, she thought that maybe this was the monster's victim, but then she noticed it releasing the woman, and treating her with… consideration? Even more confusing was that the woman treated the monster with equal respect and almost affection.

Finally, it hit her, and she realised whom these things and the woman must be.

"I take it you're these Gargoyles that everyone's talking about, and… Let me guess, you're Elisa, right?"

Elisa's head sprang up, and she glanced at the young woman, no more than Brent's age. "You know Brent?" she deduced.

Sash shrugged. "Hey, this is his place after all. How can I not know him?"

"Where is he?" Goliath demanded, interrupting.

Sash shrugged again. "Out on a job, and before you even think about asking, don't bother. I don't know the details of his job, and I know better than to ask."

Lex stared at her curiously. "Don't you know what kind of work he does?"

Sash gave him a stupid look. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out, small-fry. How many teenagers do you know turn into millionaires overnight?"

"And you don't do anything to stop him?" Brooklyn accused her.

Sash inspected her black nails. "Hey, we're here, living the sweet life. Compared to how we used to live, we're in The White House here!"

Goliath growled. "In other words, so long as you get to live in comfort, and help yourself to some of the wealth, you couldn't care less where it comes from!"

Sash once more shrugged. "Hey, it's a tough world. You take what you can get."

Goliath was about to say something more, but before he could speak…

Elisa, with her cop trained reflexes and streetwise instincts, she picked up at the way that the young girl was standing, with her hand by her hip, slightly tensing up. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was reaching for…

"Guys, get down!" Elisa yelled, and grabbed her own gun from her holster.

Sash snatched a small gun from her trouser pocket, and quickly started firing. She didn't appear to have any specific gun skills, as she seemed to mostly be firing at everything that was moving. But she was fortunate, and managed to hit a lamp that was right next to Elisa. The shards from it threw her off balance.

Lex leapt behind a drinks bar, dodging the bullets, while Brooklyn easily missed each of them, thanks to his quick reflexes.

Goliath roared, and charged forward. The mere sight of Goliath charging would be enough to send a whole army platoon quivering in their boots. It apparently worked also with Sash, but she was bright, and quickly headed towards one of the doors, slamming it behind her.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Brooklyn found it rather funny that the girl would end up running into her bedroom. Did she really think a mere door would keep guys like them out?

Goliath reached the door, and slammed his fist into it… and yelped.

Brooklyn, Lex, and Elisa all looked in astonishment at him. The door appeared to be nothing more than mere polished wood, painted white. Yet, underneath was an entirely different story. Lex scampered up to Goliath's side, and tapped the door.

"It's metal," he confirmed. "I'd say reinforced steel, since Goliath has only made a dent in it. The doors been painted and camouflaged to resemble an ordinary door."

Brooklyn snorted. "Seems like Brent was ready for us."

"Or whoever else has reason to want him dead?" Elisa thought out loud. As a professional thief, she had no doubt that Brent must have made a lot of enemies in the criminal underworld.

Goliath growled, and continued to strike out on the door. It may be metal, but it wouldn't be able to stand up for long. Sure enough, as he rammed his fists against the door, again and again, the metal bending out of shape, the door broke off of its hinges.

Goliath went through the door, but stopped. Elisa and the others followed, but when they looked in, they saw no sign of Sash. However, that wasn't what surprised them, as they figured that Brent might possibly have built in a secret escape exit or such. The thing that surprised them more, was the room itself.

The room was a bedroom, as they had at first figured, but it definitely was not the girl, Sash's. Not unless Sash was into pink fluffy carpets, white frilly bedspreads, and children's toys. A very un-Goth-like room it was indeed.

This was a child's bedroom. A very young one too, by the look of it, but they saw no one inside the room.

Elisa looked around. "Does the girl have children?" she wondered aloud. The girl didn't seem old enough, but then again, a lot of teenagers nowadays had children of their own, but still… that girl just didn't seem like the type to be a caring mother.

'Cute room," Brooklyn remarked snidely, stepping cautiously about. He stopped when he reached the bed, and noticed the small picture frame on the bedside stand.

"Err, guys?" he said cautiously. "Elisa, I think this business with your baby brother, is a lot more complicated than how we first thought."

He showed them the photo he had found. On it was a picture of the girl Sash, Elisa's brother Brent… and a small child, no more than two or three years old. The girl had dimples along her forehead, with a small button-like nose, dark brown eyes, and pure black shoulder-length hair.

Elisa had seen photos of herself and Beth when they were about this girl's age, and aside from a few minor differences, the girl looked almost exactly like they had done.

"Brent?" Elisa breathed out silently. "What the hell did you do all those years?"

0000000000

On the other side of the wall, where Sash had run through, after grabbing her charge and escaping through the special exit that Brent had had installed, in case of an emergency. Sash quickly made her way to the front door of the next apartment, which Brent also owned.

"It's okay, hon," she whispered to the snoozing child in her arms. "Sorry to wake you like that, but something's come up, and we gotta move house for a bit."

0000000000

Goliath growled, and sniffed the air, as he attempted to locate the door through which Sash must have escaped. But, as he continued to search, he suddenly felt Elisa's hand on his arm.

"Goliath, wait." Elisa said. There was a change in her demeanour. For someone who had wanted to arrest her own brother a few moments ago, she suddenly seemed so hesitate.

"Elisa?"

Elisa still had the photo in her hands, to which she kept sneaking glances at, mostly at the young girl in the picture.

"Goliath, perhaps it's best if we… Wait to do this another night?"

Goliath glared at her. "What?"

Elisa sighed. "Goliath, I still want to find Brent, now more than ever, but… As Brooklyn said, things are a bit more complicated than what we first thought. I need to call my parents and tell them about tonight, and I… "

"Elisa," Goliath breathed. "I understand completely that tonight has been a night of surprises, for all of us. However, that does not change what must be done. I wish I could give you time to digest all that has occurred, but… The Venes employed Brent, so he could hold invaluable information about them. If we loose him tonight, there's no telling when we might get another chance to seize him."

Elisa looked as though she was about to argue, but then she stopped, heaved a long sigh, and then slowly nodded.

"Hold it!" Lex suddenly hissed, his ears pricked up.

0000000000

Brent swiped his card-key into the lock, and entered his apartment. The job had been simple, steal a few documents from some lawyer's safe in his office. The office building had all the usual security measures, CCTV cameras, alarms, and overweight security guards, nothing that he couldn't handle.

Brent sighed, as he took off his coat. It seemed like he had been wearing the thing for almost a week now, as he usually wore it to work. It was a long black coat, ideal for concealment. It was only when he was sure he wouldn't be doing any climbing or any such athletic activities, when he left it behind.

"Sash?" he called to his roommate. "Job took less time than even I thought. How did… "

Before he could finish, something slammed into him from the right side, ramming him into the wall, knocking him senseless.

"OOF!" he yelled. "Get off me!" He grabbed whatever it was that was holding him, but something else grabbed his hand before he could even make a fist.

Brent snarled, as he struggled against his captors, but found that he was powerless to escape. Their grip was just too great for him to break free of.

He had a pretty good idea who they were before they turned on the light, as it had only been a short time since he invaded their home.

Someone switched on the light, and Brent quit struggling. "Hello, Elisa," he said simply.

"Hello, Brent," she replied.

"I guess I needn't ask how you found me," he continued. "I'm guessing your buddy, Xanatos, found out from his… less trusting friends, and told you? I guess I should've been more careful with who I give out my contact details to."

"Or maybe you should never have gotten into this kind of business in the first place?" Elisa replied coldly.

Brent gave her a dark look. "Everyone's got to make a living somehow."

Goliath strode forward, and grabbed Brent by the front of his shirt. "Where are the Venes?" he demanded.

Brent choked. "Beats the hell out of me. I just work for them occasionally. They don't tell me where they're staying."

"What did they employ you for?" Goliath growled, his eyes glowing white-silver. "We know you're a thief, but you didn't steal anything from us!"

Brent choked a little more, his face turning slightly blue. "Sorry," he managed to breathe out. "Trade secret."

"Goliath!" Elisa squeezed her husband's shoulder, and got him to release her brother. But she didn't look too sympathetic with him nonetheless. She didn't however go all vicious like Goliath, and just looked him straight in the eye, giving him the same fearless and ruthless look that had scared criminals into confessing. She had never dreamed though that one day she would be giving this look to one of her own family.

"Brent?" she began. She knew she had to get the information they needed about the Venes, but she knew from experience that many crooks never gave their information out freely. There was no reason that her brother wouldn't be any different. The best way was to talk about something else first, get them off guard. Plus, there was something else that she wanted to know too.

"Who is the little girl?"

Brent's head snapped up. "What little girl?"

Elisa smiled. "The little girl who was in this apartment with your girlfriend, the Goth. The one who sleeps in that kids bedroom over there, and the one who's in a photo with you and your girlfriend."

Brent thinned his eyes. "First of all, the 'Goth' as you put her, is _not_ my girlfriend. She's just a friend who helps out around the place."

"Files all your stolen items, does she?" Lex asked snidely.

Brent gave him a sideways glance. "Amongst other things," he replied.

"What about the child?" Elisa asked again.

Brent didn't say anything, and just went quiet.

"You might as well tell us, Brent," Elisa continued. "I think I can pretty much guess who she is. She's not here, so you have no reason to protect her."

Brent glared at his sister. "Then why do you need me to tell you?"

Elisa stood up to her little brother. "Because I would like to see some courage form you for once, and maybe just a hint of honesty. Or is that too much to ask from you?"

Brent grounded his teeth, but finally he sighed in defeat. "If you must know… The Goth-girl you've already met, is Sasha, or Sash as she likes to be called. She's someone I met when I was living on the streets. When I got this place, she moved in with me, but only as a friend. The little girl you mentioned… She's my daughter."

Elisa had guessed that at the start, but even so, it was still a little surprising. "How old is she?"

"Just gone two and a half now," Brent wriggled out of the Gargoyles grip, who only released him when Elisa gave them the okay, and there didn't seem to be any way for him to escape now. "Her name's Hannah."

"Hannah?"

"Anything wrong with that?" Brent said accusingly.

"No, not at all," Elisa held up her hands. "Just that… I recall you once saying that if you ever had kids, you'd only ever give them Native American names?"

Brent shrugged. "I did intend to, but… " he paused.

"But… what?" Elisa cocked her head at him.

Brent seemed vulnerable at that point, but he quickly shook it off. "Hannah was also the name of Hannah's mother. She wasn't exactly my girlfriend, just someone who I shared the streets with. It got cold on some nights, and every now and then, we'd get close and snuggle up. I think you get the picture?"

Elisa blushed a little, but knew better than to judge someone on that level, considering that she was now married to a eight foot tell Gargoyle.

"She died in childbirth," Brent carried on, but didn't halter this time. "It was in winter, none of us had been eating right, and she was weak. It was a miracle she lasted all the way to full term, the doctors said."

Elisa lowered her head in respect. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Brent said emotionlessly. "Like I said, she and I were never really close. Just friends who wanted to stay warm one night. Besides, in anything her death only served to tell me what I already know, something I learnt a long time ago… In this world only the strong, the ones with the money and power, survive. Anyone else, is just something for them to tread on, so that their feet don't get dirty."

Elisa looked at him sadly. "It isn't that way, Brent… "

"Don't go giving me your 'everyone is equal' speech, Elisa!" Brent said angrily. "You think what you like, but I've spent a lifetime on the streets. I've seen the worst of humanity up close. I've seen rich people walk past starving children, who barely had enough clothing on their backs, and turn up their noses at them! People with more than enough money to spare a few dollars for food, just turned their backs on their fellow men, so that they could go to a movie!"

"I know there are people like that in the world, Brent!" Elisa insisted. "Believe me, I've had to bring in more than a few of them off the street, and from rich expensive mansions too. There are all kinds of people in this world, Brent, both those on the street and in houses and mansions. There are those on the streets who mug innocent old ladies for their purses, and those who would rather starve than steal. And those with the money, there are those who give all they can to help the needy, and those who just couldn't give a damn."

"I know all about that, sis!" Brent snapped. "But I also know, that even with the number of good people in this world… The bad ones outnumber the good twice hold." He looked almost sad. "The sad fact, my big sister, is that no matter how many people try to do good… with every single good deed in this world, there are over a million evil ones being committed simultaneously elsewhere."

"Brent, I… "

"Save it! Now, what else do you want to know? I told you I don't know where the Venes are. They only hired me for that one job at your place, and I didn't get what I came there for, and they're not interested in hiring me again, at least as far as I know."

Elisa sighed, as she shut her eyes tightly. "I think you've told us all there is to know for now," she said quietly. "Now, there's only one thing left to do."

Brent eyed her suspiciously. "And what's that?"

Elisa gave her brother a sad look, and reached into her pocket, withdrawing a pair of handcuffs.

Brent raised an eyebrow. "Oh," he deduced. "I see."

Elisa stared sadly at her brother. "I'm sorry, Brent," she nearly pleaded with him. "But I can't just let you go. You have too much to answer for. You're a thief, you've stolen from people, honest citizens."

"If you're going to arrest me, get it over with," Brent hissed at her. "Don't stand there talking about it. Or… "

Before anyone could blink, there was a bright flash, which blinded everyone in the room.

"… Or you risk loosing your prisoner!" Brent's voice taunted them.

Elisa blinked the spots out of her eyes, and she heard Goliath, Brooklyn and Lexington's high roars fill the room. She didn't have to see to guess what had happened.

"He's gone," she said simply, as the last of the spots dwindled from her sight.

Goliath wasted no time, as he raced into the child's bedroom and began pounding on the walls in the room, trying to find the secret passage through which Brent must have escaped.

Brooklyn and Lex were quick to help him, and soon they found the passageway, ironically behind a small bookcase. It had never occurred to them to search in the most likely of hiding places for it.

The passageway was not big so Lex, being the smallest, went through first. Brooklyn went through next, but they didn't stay long. A short while later, Lex's voice called out, "They're not here!"

Goliath snarled in anger, while Elisa just sighed again. She didn't know whether she was sighing in exasperation, or in relief.

"Are you sure?" Goliath asked to confirm.

Brooklyn and Lex soon walked back through the passage.

"Yup," Brooklyn confirmed. "Brent must be faster than even we suspected. He must have moved at lightning speed to escape us, get through here, and out of there."

"What is in there?" Elisa asked.

Lex shrugged. "Just another apartment. It's completely empty, no furniture or anything. I guess Brent just keeps it for an escape route."

An uncomfortable silence followed then, and Goliath motioned his second-in-command to leave the room.

Brooklyn and Lex gave each other a short look, but quickly left the child's bedroom, hoping to find some clue as to where the younger Maza had departed.

"Are you all right?" Goliath asked his wife in concern.

Elisa shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not sure." She gratefully accepted Goliath's huge arms around her, and melted into his embrace. "When I first learnt of Brent's new _career, _I was so ashamed that I wanted to cry, but now… Now I'm wondering if maybe I wouldn't have done the same thing in the same position?"

"Never!" Goliath said assuredly.

"Don't say that, Goliath!" Elisa warned him. "I don't like thinking like Brent, but remember what I told you once… Nothing is impossible. Demona was once your mate, your second-in-command, and most trusted clan-member, yet she betrayed your trust in the worst possible way."

Elisa felt sick, as she reminded her husband of the worst moment in his life, but felt as if she had to, if only to make him understand.

Goliath hissed, as he remembered the terrible night when he first learnt the horrible truth of Demona's betrayal. "I know no one is perfect, my Elisa," he admitted. "But you, you I could never imagine being corrupt."

Elisa pressed her face into his exceedingly masculine chest. "I'd like to think that as well, but… The trials and tribulations we suffer in life are what shapes us into the people we are. Some of us learn from them, and learn to be better people because of them, while others… Others let themselves be consumed by them." She looked at her brother's apartment. "I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like for my brother, loosing his friend in the way he did, then living on the streets, having a daughter on them, and seeing the worst of humanity."

Goliath held his wife closely. "It is hard to tell how any of us would act if we were put in the same position." He finished for her, but smiled shortly. "But you keep an open mind about such things. Most people would be quick to judge, and yet you try to see everything from other people's perspectives, to understand them better. That is why I can never believe you would ever fall from grace, my Elisa. Because you try to see the good in everyone, even those who've done you wrong."

Elisa smiled at her husband's praise, and hugged him back. "Thanks, big guy."

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, until Brooklyn and Lex finally called to them, asking if they were ever going to move it.

"Can't understand how he got out though?" Lex said, as he thought about Brent's disappearance. "I knew he was fast, but I still don't see how he escaped the apartment without us getting in his way?"

Brooklyn shrugged. "Maybe he had another secret passage somewhere? Who knows? We'll just have to keep a sharp eye for him if he ever shows up again. If he's as big a thief, as Xanatos said, then we're bound to cross paths with him again someday."

The four of them launched themselves into the night, jumping from the balcony of Brent's apartment, souring towards home to report to the others the events of the night. As they glided away, they didn't notice the two pairs of keen eyes watching them, the first from beneath the balcony, as he held onto the bottom of the balcony and then leapt straight up and back onto the window ledge, from which he jumped off a few minutes ago.

"Catch ya later, sis," Brent said quietly, and moved to leave, as he had to rendezvous with Sash and Hannah, and make that call to his employers tonight.

The second pair of eyes watching them, no one would have been able to see, even if they knew where to look.

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_Elisa smiled at her husband's praise, and hugged him back. "Thanks, big guy."_

Cecile Vene smiled, as she gazed into her crystal ball, observing the cute couple.

"How sweet," she sneered. "It's enough to make you vomit, but…" she smiled again. "But I think I may have found our first contestant for our big Dragon blind date."

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chosen: PART 19

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

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**Previously on Gargoyles: -**

_Thailog nodded, but still had more questions. "You say Draco needs one of three people so that he can bring a new generation of Dragons forth. How exactly does that work?… I mean, what precisely does he need the three for? I mean, does he want them for a sacrifice or something?" _

_Cecile laughed. "Hardly!" she gave Thailog a sympathetic look, unfitting for her. "You really don't know anything much about Dragons, do you?" _

_Thailog shrugged. "It wasn't in my programming." _

_Cecile smiled. "Dragons are an all male race… He requires three female humans. Does that answer your question?" _

0000000000

_Cecile Vene smiled, as she gazed into her crystal ball, observing the cute couple. _

"_How sweet," she sneered. "It's enough to make you vomit, but…" she smiled again. _

"_But I think I may have found our first contestant for our big Dragon blind date." _

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**And Now, The Continuation: -**

**Three Days Later; Bedford Hotel: **

Thailog stood in the middle of the hotel bedroom, completely naked, while Cecile idly twirled her finger in a basin of water.

"May I put my loincloth and armour back on?" Thailog asked, feeling humiliated.

Cecile continued twirling the water, never taking her eyes off him, particularly his lower area. "Say please." She said.

Thailog sighed, and spoke through his fangs. "May I _please_ put my clothes back on?"

"No," Cecile answered. "I believe this to be your best look, Thailog. Such an impressive mountain of a body like yours has no business being covered up in useless garments that have no need for you. And I do not wish it."

Thailog clenched his fists, almost drawing blood with his talons. When suddenly, the water in the basin that Cecile had began to glow a dark purple.

Cecile turned her head, and if not for the miserable spell that bided him, Thailog would gladly rip her to shreds.

After a few moments, Cecile raised her eyebrows in interest. "Hmm, interesting," she said. "Very interesting."

"What is it?" Thailog asked, curious in spite of himself.

Before Cecile could answer, a knock came on the door. "Room service," a voice called. Cecile's younger brothers must have let the bellhop into the apartment?

Thailog was about to make a dash for the window, before the bellhop came in and discovered him, but Cecile raised her hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Stay!" she ordered.

"Are you mad?" Thailog asked incredulously. "Don't you think the bellhop will find it a little… unusual to find someone like me here?"

Cecile just looked at him. "I said stay, I didn't ask for your opinion. Come in!"

The doorknob turned, and Thailog was helpless to do anything besides cover himself with his talons, in order to try and retain some form of dignity. But even that was denied him, as Cecile lifted her finger.

"Ah, ah," she taunted him. "No covering up, remember?"

Thailog growled fiercely, but placed his talons back down by his sides. He winced, as the door opened and couldn't help but wonder what reaction the hotel servant was going to do… Whether scream in fear upon seeing a Gargoyle, or laugh in hysterics at seeing him in his birthday suit?

The door opened, and the bellhop entered.

"You ordered some caviar and champagne, ma'am?" he asked the female Vene.

"Yes, put it over there, if you please." She pointed behind Thailog, by the fireplace, and the bellhop wheeled the table over, completely passing Thailog and not even raising an eyebrow.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" he asked Cecile.

"Yes, thank you," Cecile said smiling, and the bellhop bowed and left.

Thailog didn't know whether to be relieved or confused. Either the bellhop was blind, incredibly stupid, or maybe this hotel had more than its fair share of weirdness than he knew of.

"Why didn't he… " Thailog began, but then stopped. "You had me shielded, using one of your spells, didn't you?"

Cecile giggled. "You are learning, aren't you?"

"And the reason you didn't bother to tell me was…?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Both Cecile and Thailog said simultaneously.

Cecile laughed loudly. "Now I know you are definitely learning. But enough jokes for now, come and see this." She patted the bed, beside her.

Thailog walked over, no choice, and sat down beside his mistress. Cecile immediately got up and sat down on him, wriggling into his lap, enjoying the feel of his manhood pressed against her.

"Why don't you take a look at this?" she hissed into his ear, nibbling on it, as she held out the basin to his eyes.

Thailog looked down into the water, and saw the most beautiful sight he had seen in ages.

Lana's lovely delicate face looked back up at him, almost as though she were smiling at him. Her eyes were lit with laughter, her red lips parted into a bright smile.

"Lana…" he breathed. Just the sight of him was making him quiver with lust and anxiety.

"Mmmm," Cecile moved about on him. "You are feeling chirper today, aren't you?"

Suddenly, fear overwhelmed him. "You're not using Lana as one of the sacrifices for your dragon?" Thailog both asked, and warned the Vene. The fear of loosing his love done was too great for him.

Cecile waved her hand at him. "Don't have a cow. Lana is sweet, young, and utterly vulnerable. There is no way she could ever make a good… sacrifice, as you call it, to a dragon, as they need strong women. Something, which your precious Lana is anything but."

Thailog, relieved, ignored her and continued to watch the true source of his desire, as Lana continued smiling. But then it was as though the picture zoomed out, and Thailog found himself watching Lana in the arms of the male Gargoyle called Gabriel.

At first, Thailog did nothing, and just watched speechlessly as Lana danced around in the arms of the young Gargoyle, their lips locking onto one another, kissing deeply.

"No… " Thailog could only breathe now.

Cecile cocked her head at him. "No offence, but did you really think she'd still love you, after what you did? I mean, besides the rape, you are a sworn enemy of the clan; you used her to trap and threaten her grandma whom you also betrayed and nearly killed… Need I go on?"

Thailog suddenly roared and flung the basin across the room. His rage consumed him, as he searched for something else to destroy, grabbing every bit of furniture he could lay his talons on.

But before he could do any other bit of damage, he stopped. He remained standing where he was, powerless to do anything except roar and strain at the invisible force that was holding him.

"Sorry, honey." Cecile told him. "But daddy's pissed off at me already for causing such a bill, what with all the destruction my brothers and I have caused. I can't afford to get anymore into his bad books." She waved her hands at him, and Thailog snarled, as he was forced onto the floor, on all fours.

"But don't worry, baby," Cecile suddenly smiled, and this time it was an even eerier smile than usual. "I have a proposition for you, if you're interested in regaining in some of your freedom?"

Thailog stopped briefly in his struggle, and gazed up at his warden in curiosity. A deal? Now this was something that was familiar to him, and one he might be able to use to his advantage.

"What kind of a proposition?" he asked her.

Cecile twiddled her finger to him, beckoning him closer. "My father has expressed concern at our possible failure at taking the sword. I am taking every precaution into sealing our primary objective," she told him. "Into gaining the sword, Excalibur, and usurping its power for our own. But as powerful as we were, I cannot ignore the fact that that sword completely overpowered me. Even if I wasn't using all of my full power at the time, I could feel the sword's energy, and it frightened me…" She paused, almost ashamed, as though fear was an unknown emotion to her.

Thailog took slight delight in watching her like this, but remained quiet.

"I have no doubt that when the time comes, when we fall to battle with the clan, and the legendary King Arthur… It will be one hell of a battle! Therefore, my family and I need every capable warrior, and the fact is… as great a warrior as I'm sure you are, my spell of control may limit your skills. So… I am willing to make you a deal. I will cast a new spell, one that will give you almost complete control of yourself back."

"Almost?" Thailog said with a raised eye-ridge.

Cecile smiled. "There are limits to what I'm offering, Thailog honey. I will relinquish the original spell I place on you, and place a new one, one that doesn't involve you obeying my every command."

Thailog's eyes widened in greed, as this had definite possibilities.

"You will have your original freewill once again," Cecile continued. "But know this, lover… The new spell I place on you, although it will not bend you to my every will, it will however still ensure your loyalty. For if you ever attempt to do any harm to me or my kin, then you will die in the most slow and hideously painful manner imaginable. Am I understood?"

Thailog sneered, but nodded respectfully.

"I'm also willing to do you a favour, Thailog. Assuming you prove your loyalty?"

"And what pray tell is that?" Thailog asked, his interest still ignited.

Cecile smiled. "Help us to take the sword, then once it is ours, I will give you that what you crave the most… Your darling, precious _Lana_."

Thailog hissed. "What makes you think I need your help with her?"

Cecile laughed. "Do you really think she'll go back to you? Haven't I already explained that, considering what you did with the rape and everything. You'll be lucky if she and her family don't castrate you."

Thailog said nothing.

Cecile shrugged. "But if you're so intent on trying to win back your love, your way, then please go ahead. You can try it your way, but when you fail… and believe me, you will fail. I can devise a number of spells, which will succeed where you failed, and before you know it, Lana will be in your arms all lovey and dovey again."

She moved in closer to his face, and in the blink of an eye, and the recite of a single word, Thailog found Lana sitting on his lap, with her lips close to his.

"Do we have a deal?" Cecile spoke in Lana's seductive voice, to which Thailog replied by grabbing and kissing her fiercely.

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**Eyrie Building: **

Elisa stepped out from the elevator, heading toward the stairs that led to the high tower, where the clan and her husband slept. Just as soon as she stepped out, Owen was there to greet her.

"Detective?" he greeted her.

"Owen," she replied politely. "Has there been any news on Brent?"

Owen shook his head. "Mr. Xanatos has once more been looking into all his contacts to find out everything he can about your brother, but as of yet, no new information has presented itself. Mr. Xanatos even tried contacting your brother, himself, under the pretence of a client, but apparently your brother has gone underground, and is taking no new assignments for the moment."

Elisa sighed. She knew it had been a long shot, as she didn't expect her brother to stay hanging around, not after they had found his apartment. She had to admit that the life of a thief seemed to pay a lot better than the straight path. Just the furniture in that place had probably cost more than her whole apartment.

"Thanks anyway, Owen," she silently thanked Xanatos's assistant.

There was only one option left now, and that was to simply wait for Brent's next move. Since they had exhausted all other possibilities.

She still hadn't told the rest of her family about Brent. Derek knew of course, as he had been there when Brent had tried to break into the Eyrie. She had called him, as soon as they had gotten back from Brent's apartment, and informed him on all they had found out, including about Brent's daughter.

'Brent's daughter?' No matter how many times she ran that through her mind, she still found it hard to believe. Brent was the youngest in the family, not even old enough to vote, yet now he was burdened with the responsibility of parenthood. And for the moment, he wasn't exactly setting a good example, being a thief and all.

Elisa wondered about that girl who was now living with him. He had said that she wasn't the child's mother, just a friend who helped out with her. Elisa couldn't help, but worry about her. She hadn't exactly looked like the type of girl that one would leave their children alone with.

Elisa knew better than to judge people by their outward appearance. She was now married to a Gargoyle, so she had no right to judge other people, but even so, if she ever had children, she would think twice about leaving them with a girl who looked like she had just come out of rehab.

She didn't know how she was going to break it to her parents about Brent. Telling him that he was now an international thief was going to be bad enough, but now he was a thief and a father… She didn't know if they could cope?

Suddenly, Elisa stopped. "Owen?" she thought out-loud. "What about Sarah? Surely with her visions, she could find out all we need to know about Brent?"

Owen seemed to loose some of his cool stature for a moment. "Detective, I won't deny that Miss Vene… I mean Miss Foster's visions are unbelievably accurate, but as a Fey, Lord Oberon's law binds me, and his law forbids us from using or going near… other worldly magics, shall we say?"

"I don't understand?" Elisa frowned.

Owen sighed. "Miss Foster's magic mostly comes from the demon that resides within her. It is an unholy magic, one that even we Fey dare not touch. It was decreed, long ago, before even Oberon's rule that no Fey would ever even think of going near a demon, let alone attempt to use its power. Their power is ever so strong, and it also has the power to corrupt. It is said that any Fey who goes near a demon, can be corrupted and driven mad by the beast's evil."

Elisa was about to say that that sounded like nothing more than pure superstition, but considering that the man she was talking to was a Fey, and after everything she had gone through in the past few years, she decided not to argue.

"You are of course welcome to try and use the demon's magic, detective," Owen said. "There is nothing to stop you or the clan, but I warn you… No good can ever come out of a demon's magic. Their power comes straight from the lord of Hell himself, who brings many promises, but in the end only brings misery and death."

Elisa felt a little uneasy, as she was beginning to feel like she was in Sunday school. Her parents hadn't been churchgoers, but her mother had believed in things like the devil and God, and such, so she had raised Elisa and her siblings to respect the lord, to say prayers and everything. Elisa wasn't sure if she actually believed in the devil, but even so, the mere talk of him was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"Well… " she started out hesitantly. "Maybe I'll talk it over with Goliath and the clan first, and see what they say."

Owen nodded.

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**Town Hall; Same Time: **

Margot Yale, district attorney, stepped through the sliding doors of the Town Hall, frowning. She had made the mistake of working late again.

It had never been a problem before, as Brendan had always been there to pick her up, no matter how late she worked. Unfortunately though, he was no longer going to be there. Brendan had, in his own words, 'quit'.

Margot had devoted herself to her work, and whenever she was with her husband Brendan, she had had the tendency to keep 'bragging'. Brendan had constantly told her not to start mouthing off at him, but in the end she always did. Finally, Brendan had had enough, and a divorce was signed within a week.

Brendan had been so glad to get rid of her, he was willing to give her their apartment, money… everything, hence the reason why the divorce was over and done with so quickly. The only thing she didn't get from him was their car, and that was because Margot had never bothered to learn how to drive. Brendan had been more like her personal shofa than her husband.

Margot wouldn't have been surprised if Brendan had started dancing once he was out of the courtroom. Not that she cared of course, in fact as far as Margot was concerned; Brendan was already a closed chapter on her life. He had never cared about her career, and her work was her life.

She kept thinking back to all those sleepless nights of study at school, and later university. She had never had much time for a social life, as the demands for a straight-A student were practically limitless.

She had worked her whole life for her current position, and now what was she supposed to do, just forget about it?

True, she had maybe spent one too many late nights working at her office, but if he had truly cared for her, then he would have understood and supported her. Something that he did at first, but then after a while he began craving more and more time from her, something that her work wouldn't allow. Eventually he just quit, and as far as she believed, that was just fine. Without his constant hassles and never-ending need for attention, she could get finally some real work done.

Her mother had recently past away, but not before the divorce, and she hadn't taken the news well. She knew how important her job was to her, but as she kept saying, "A good job doesn't keep you company on those long lonely nights." Margot had scoffed at that, as she had never believed that she needed a man, any man, to make her life complete.

'Aren't you worried about growing old alone?' her mother had asked, to which Margot had replied, 'No, because I'll always be too busy to notice.'

The only problem was, it wasn't just the no dating that was the problem. Margot was so engrossed in her work that she literally had no time for anything else, no socialising or anything, and as such she had no friends, no close ones anyway. But it would be a cold day in Hell before she would ever admit it, and pigs would fly before she ever loosened up a bit in her work.

Her father had been a district attorney too, before he died years ago. He had been a workaholic as well, and he gotten along just fine. He had met and married her mother, had her, and had a successful career at the same time. Why shouldn't she be just as lucky? In fact, it was partially because of him that she chose to be an attorney. She hadn't known him for very long, as he died when she was a child, but she had grown up hearing about his wonderful career, the people he helped, and the money he made.

Still, even though she was partly relieved to be rid of Brendan's need for attention, she had to admit that she wouldn't mind hearing the sound of his car right about now. It was impossible to get a cab in this city.

"I must make a note to bring it up in the next meeting," she thought out-loud.

Suddenly, a long black limousine pulled up in front of her, its back door flung open, by itself?

"May we offer you a lift?" Brendan's voice called out.

Margot blinked. "Brendan?" she asked hesitantly. She peered inside the car, but couldn't see anything, as it was so dark. "Brendan, what are you doing here? And where the heck did you come up with the money for a limo?"

Brendan's voice chuckled. "Let's just say I'm letting myself go for a change. Can't a guy spoil his wife for a change?"

Margot paused, and raised an eyebrow at him. "No, but it would have helped if you had done this _when _we were married."

"Well then call this a make-up gift. Something to atone for the way we split up." He said it rather quickly, as though trying to cover something up, but Margot just waved her hands at him.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Brendan," she said. "I've just worked eleven straight hours, without even a coffee break, and I'm in no mood for your little games right now."

A sigh came from the car, but Margot still couldn't see her ex-husband. "Very well," he said. "Perhaps we'll meet up again some other time. Goodbye, Miss Yale."

Margot snorted, as the door closed itself, and the limo quickly drove off. "Miss Yale," she mimicked her former partner. "It's Miss Stanton now, idiot."

She wondered if she should have taken up his offer on the ride home, but thought better against it. She didn't know why Brendan would come all this way to offer her a ride, but if he was trying to get back together with her, then he could forget it. He had made his own bed, now he had to lie in it.

Margot sighed, as she looked around, but still didn't see a cab in sight. "Should've rung for one before I got out," she grumbled, and reached into her pocket for her cell-phone.

Before she could punch the number in though, something loud and fast, and obviously very strong, whooshed right over her, and grabbed her from underneath her arms.

Margot squealed, but didn't say anything, as something that felt like a snake wrapped itself around her mouth, gagging her.

"You should have taken the ride, Miss Yale," a deep voice spoke to her. "Now you'll have to take the flight instead."

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**Destine Manor: **

Demona aka Dominique Destine frowned, as she fumbled through one of Nightstone Unlimited's reports for one of their many latest projects. She cursed the Human who had made it so that everything had to be done on paper. It had been so much simpler back in the middle ages.

"Gran?" Jarred's voice called out from the other room.

Demona growled at the back of her throat, but at the same time she felt mildly relieved. Anything that could take her away from this damn paperwork, if just for a moment, was a blessing.

"Yes, Jarred?" she called back.

"Could you come and help me with this spell?" he asked. "The potion's not turning to the colour it was supposed to!"

Demona got up to walk to the next room, which was her spell-room (a laboratory in modern terms, but with potions and spells instead of chemicals and scientific documents).

She had got Jarred to study one of her magic books, and had left him to attempt one of the spells in it. It had just been a minor spell, one for turning base metals into gold, or Alchemy as the humans called it. She had often laughed at the thought of all the humans in the past that had attempted to turn lead into gold. So many years they had put into that one mission, to make gold, some even wasting away their lives, and yet all they had to do was use a simple spell.

'Which they could have used, _if_ they hadn't outlawed magic,' she thought, taking in pleasure of how the Human's own law and superstitious fear had worked against them.

She walked into her spell-room and found Jarred, as always, sitting at her desk, his nose in the spell-book she had given him. He found magic absolutely fascinating. He was fond of learning how to fight, and be a warrior, but his heart seemed to be in sorcery. He apparently wanted nothing more than to be a great sorcerer, just like some magician called Harry Potter.

Demona frowned. She thought she knew of all the sorcerers in the world, yet somehow this one had escaped her knowledge. The name sounded familiar, but she could not place it.

'Must be an English magician,' she thought. She reminded herself to look the name up sometime.

"What's the problem, Jarred?" she asked her grandson.

Jarred looked up, frowning over the book. "It says here that after I sprinkle the toad's spores in, the colour should change from blue to green, but… it's pink."

Demona glanced into the cauldron. She couldn't understand why Jarred didn't just use one of the saucepans in the kitchen, as the cookers were so much faster than ordinary fire. But Jarred wanted to do all his spells just like a traditional sorcerer would do it. She had to admire that in him. At least he seemed to have respect for the old ways, unlike his sister.

Lana had more or less dropped out of all her classes, with the exception of a few history lessons that she did by reading her grandmother's books, at the insistence of her mother, and a few self-defence classes.

The warrior training, or self-defence classes, was an absolute must, as Darlene didn't want her daughter getting into danger again, without having some kind of protection. As for the magic lessons, Lana also found them fascinating, like her brother, but she didn't really want to have anything to do with it, since it was magic that had gotten her trapped as a Gargoyle. Though, as Demona had often pointed out, if she had never become a Gargoyle then she would never have met Gabriel.

"Did you add in all the other ingredients?" she asked him. "How about the roasted newt?"

Jarred nodded. "Yeah, I followed the recipe to the letter, but it still turned out pink."

Demona drummed her talons on the table, thinking, when she noticed a speck of dried brown powder on the cauldron. Curiously, she picked it up with her talon and sniffed at it.

"Dried Wolfs-bane?" she deduced, but was confused. "Jarred, may I?" she took the book from him and double-checked, but was correct. "Jarred, this is Wolfs-bane. Wolfs-bane isn't one of the ingredients you should have used."

Jarred shook his head. "I haven't used it. I only got out the ingredients you told me that the book says to use, nothing else, honest."

Demona searched her grandson's face, but aside from the usual cheeky expression that his face often held, his face seemed sincere.

"Well, the how did… " she stopped. "Wait a minute! Jarred, is this the same cauldron that you used in your last spell?"

Jarred nodded without even checking.

Demona thought back to what Jarred's last spell had been about. She couldn't recall exactly, but she did remember that Wolfs-bane had been one of the key ingredients.

"Jarred, when you last used this cauldron, did you clean it out after you were finished with it?"

Jarred nodded. "Yeah, I put it in the dishwasher and… "

Demona groaned loudly. "Jarred! You don't put cauldrons in the dishwasher!"

Jarred looked hopelessly at her. "Oh but, Gran! The cauldron's half my size. It would take hours to clean that big thing by hand… err, claw."

Demona sighed. "That's not what I mean, Jarred. When you're finished with a cauldron, or any kind of pot that you use for a spell, you're supposed to clean it by boiling water inside of it for a good half hour, so that it can completely dissolve any of the ingredients that you used till there's nothing left. If you don't, if you wash it by any other way, then you risk not getting rid of the entire previous spell that you used the pot to cast. Hence, the next time you use it, you could accidentally mix the two spells together."

Jarred gulped. "What would have happened if I cast this spell, as it is now?"

Demona shrugged. "Who knows? What was the last spell you did before this one?"

"It was a plant growing spell. You used it to bring that dead weed that used to be a rose bush come back to life, outside."

Demona nodded. "Ah, yes. Now I remember. Well, both of these spells were quite harmless, but nevertheless, it is important never to mix magics, Jarred, not when you don't know the consequences of your actions. Separate, these two spells are harmless, as I said, but who knows what would happen now that you've mixed them."

Demona took a damp cloth and hung it over the cauldron. "I think that'll be enough magic lessons for tonight. I'll dispose of this later. Why don't you go and see what your mother and sister are doing?"

Jarred made a face. "Everyone's making kissy-face. Lana's with Gabriel, and mom's with Griff. The only one who isn't in the smoochie mood, besides me, is Gem and she's just a baby."

"I thought you liked your baby sister?"

"I do, but you can only play so many games with her."

Demona sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, Jarred, but for tonight you'll just have to settle with her. I still have a lot of paperwork to do for work, and I can't afford the time right now."

Jarred groaned. "Yes, Grandma." He said defeated, and walked out the room.

Deep down, Demona felt the same as Jarred. It seemed like everyone was getting lucky in the romance department lately except her and Jarred, and that was just because he was still a boy. It was times like this that made her pine for her former mate, Darlene's father, and the others she had at one time shared her heart with. Even, may the Dragon help her, her former mate Goliath would be welcome at this point. That was, until she remembered that he was now re-mated… and to a Human no less.

Demona snarled viciously, restraining the dark impulse to tear the walls down with her bare claws. She had known for a while that Goliath and the detective's mate-ship was only a matter of time, but even so… the thought of a Human and a Gargoyle together, particularly those two, turned her stomach, as well as her ire.

Demona growled one final time, and then went back to her study to finish Nightstone's paperwork.

She didn't notice the dark eyes that were following her from outside.

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**Police Precinct; Some Time Later: **

Elisa fumbled through her keys, as she made her way across the road to her car. After meeting up with the clan, and saying a quick kiss and hello to her husband, Captain Chavez had asked her to come in and give a full detailed report of her attack. Despite Elisa insisting that it had just been a pack of rats, Chavez was not easy to fool.

Elisa pulled the bandages off her hand, stretching her fingers. She didn't need the bandages at all now, since Puck had been kind enough to give Alex a lesson in healing, and thus cured her wounds… Of course, when he first tried the spell, he had accidentally given her the claw of a chicken, but that was all water under the bridge now.

Elisa sighed. She had been lying to her captain for years now, ever since the clan had come into her life. It was hard to do so because Chavez was more than just her captain and commanding officer... she was also her friend. Chavez had once served under her father, and as such had gotten to know most of her family.

But it wasn't just that Chavez was a close family friend, she was also a good cop with a keen head on her shoulders. She was nobody's fool, and Elisa was more than positive that she was suspicious of her. Elisa had made up more than a few bad lies over the years, to cover up her tracks, particularly the one when she went on her world tour with Goliath, Bronx and Angela.

And that had just been the icing on the cake, as together with her previous stories, of how she was able to be in on a particular crime just in the nick of time, and being able to subdue half a dozen crooks on her own… etc. Chavez knew Elisa was a good cop, and an even better fighter, but even she wouldn't have been able to take down that many men by herself.

Elisa sighed again. She knew the time was coming when she would have to tell her friend the whole truth. She just didn't know how she was going to react to it. Finding out about the existence of Gargoyles had been a real shock to her system, as to everyone else, but finding out that her friend, and one of her best cops, had been their friend and ally for years, all the while hiding them under their own noses, and lying for them and such… Elisa didn't know what Chavez would say, or do?

"Maybe I can still put it off for another couple of years?" Elisa wondered out-loud, half serious.

She reached her car, and turned the key in the lock, but stopped when she heard the sound of a child crying.

Elisa turned her head, looking around, but aside form the usual crowd of people passing her by, she saw no children. She pricked up her ears and listened further.

As she listened, she heard the cries again, this time closer. She strained her hearing, and deduced that the sound was coming from one of the alleys close by her.

Elisa took the key out and put it back in her pocket. She cautiously made her way to the alley, taking care in case it was a trap. Along with everything else that was happening in her life, she knew that muggers used many a trick to try and lure unsuspecting people into dark alleyways, where they were helpless.

"Hello?" she called out, and reached for her gun.

The crying went on, and Elisa slowly made her way into the dark alley, her eyes straining to see.

"What I wouldn't give for a Gargoyle's sight right now," she said to herself.

She walked further on, taking one step at a time, until she came to the source of the crying. It turned out that it was indeed a little boy, kneeling by the dumpsters, head in his hands, crying.

Elisa put her gun away, her maternal instincts taking over, and rushed over to the child. "Hello?" she said soothingly to the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy raised his head and looked at her. Elisa's keen cop instincts immediately shouted out to her, as she looked at the boy's face. Being a cop, she had to deal with cases such as missing persons, and wanted thugs, so she was experienced in memorising certain people from a photograph. She instantly recognised the boy, as one of the Vene twins.

"Name's Damien, heir to the Vene legacy, future ruler of all Humanity," the Vene answered. "But you can call me… D!" The boy laughed and clapped his hands together, and a flash of yellow brightened the dark alleyway. Before Elisa could even turn, a lasso of the yellow light grabbed her, entrapping her.

Elisa squirmed, as she tried to break free of the lightning lasso, but it was so tight that it felt like she was stuck in a cocoon. She fell to the ground, kicking her legs. She looked like a giant glowing caterpillar.

A second giggle made her raise her head, and she another little boy, identical to the first one, come forward out of the darkness.

"Future ruler of all Humanity?" the second boy said incredulously. "Give me a break!"

Damien shrugged. "Well, it could happen!"

0000000000

**Destine Manor: **

Demona moaned, as she observed the stack of reports that needed doing, on her desk.

"There must be an easier way to do this," she moaned loudly, and prepared to sit down at her desk.

She had just got out the chair, to sit on, when she stopped… Her keen ears picked up noise from outside her window.

She continued moving about, not wanting to give whoever or whatever it was a reason to suspect that she had caught onto it. She moved the chair out, and then put it back, seemingly deciding better against it. She started making her way over to one of the walls, where she kept one of her laser cannons in case of emergencies.

Unfortunately, whatever it was that was watching her must have caught on to what she was doing, and attacked.

Demona raced to her hidden compartment, to retrieve her cannon, as the sound of shattering glass sounded behind her. She pressed the button, accessing the compartment, revealing the hidden weapon, which she grabbed in earnest.

Demona then whirled around, aiming her weapon on whoever had been foolish enough to invade her home, but paused when she noticed who or, more precisely, what it was.

At first, it didn't seem like anything, just a big black cloud that was hovering among the shards of glass littered on her carpet. But as she inspected it closer, she saw an undeniable face within the dark mass. The face was grotesque; its eyes were like two large lumps of coal, soulless and empty, with jagged pieces of dark matter edging out of its mouth, for teeth.

"Not our usual night-time visitor," she said, as she blinked at the creature.

The beast seemed to ooze its way into the room, and as Demona noticed, she saw that it had multiple tentacles, which were aiding it to move about.

"De-mona," the creature slurred, interesting Demona.

"Interesting," Demona summarised. "So you have the power of speech then… But that won't do you any good." She aimed her weapon at the thing, and fired.

As the laser beam cut through the air, striking the beast in the face, the beast seemed to open its mouth, just as the beam reached it, and seemingly swallowed the beam whole. As it digested the laser, its body doubled in size.

"Damn it!" Demona swore. "It must be an energy consumer!"

The creature's tentacles then reached out, its long arms slapping the laser cannon away from Demona. Demona snarled, and angrily swiped away at the snake-like tendrils, but each time that she clawed at them, the tendrils seemed to fade away briefly, before coming back into focus. It was like swiping at air.

"Mother?" Darlene's voice called to her.

Demona looked in mild fear, as her daughter's footsteps came closer to her study-door.

"Darlene!" Demona called out to her. "Don't come in…!"

The creature used this momentarily weakness, which caused her to look away, and wrapped its arms quickly around her, smothering her voice.

"Mother!" Darlene raced through the door, hearing her mother's cry, and was met with a hard slap around the face, which sent her flying out of the room, and onto one of her mother's tables.

Demona snarled deeply, futilely thrashing about in the creatures bonds, but to no avail. The creature had her bound tight.

The creature then slurred one final time, and slithered its way out of the mansion, carrying Demona with it.

0000000000

**Bedford Hotel; Several Minutes Later:**

Cecile stood patiently on the rooftop of the Bedford Hotel, idly checking her fingernails. Thailog stood close by her, holding something in his arms, inside a large sack, which flinched and thrust about wildly, attempting to escape.

"Stand still!" Thailog ordered, his eyes flashing red, but his captive chose to ignore.

Cecile spared a glance, smirking slightly at the scene. "Gotta give those attorneys credit," she said absent-mindedly. They were standing on the roof of the hotel, where they were staying temporarily. The floor of the roof had been painted with a circle, and a number of symbols.

A flash of lightning sprang out of nowhere, and Damien and Nathan Vene were standing right before her.

"You took your time," Cecile briefly said. "Did you get her?"

The boys stood aside, revealing Detective Maza, wound up like a mummy in a strange yellow glowing light. She glared furiously at the Vene, and even more so when she spotted Thailog standing close by.

"Thailog!" Elisa spat at him. "You miserable good for nothing twisted…!"

"Yes, yes," Cecile said, bored. "He's a rapist, a mongrel, a monster, a freak of nature, whatever. Much as I enjoy listening to people go off at others, we don't have a lot of time tonight." She raised her hands, and clapped them. "Ladies, you'll no doubt be wondering why I have sent for you tonight… "

"The thought had crossed our minds," Elisa grumbled, watching as Demona thrashed about in the tentacles of her captor. She looked over to Thailog again, and noticed that there was someone else beside him, but she couldn't make whomever it was out, as it was too dark.

"You ladies may seem different," Cecile ignored her and continued. "But you all have something greatly in common."

"I have nothing in common with this… this…!" Demona spat out.

"Human?" Thailog finished for her, smiling somewhat arrogantly at her.

Demona's eyes flashed red, and Thailog felt fear as he looked into those eyes that he had once found enticing. Before the fire at the amusement park, and the business with Lana, Thailog had never really feared her, but now all he could do was gaze into her dark eyes, and shudder.

"Whether you agree or not is irrelevant," Cecile said not-caring. "You each possess a certain spark that we require, like a sort of fire that gives you your inner strength, your independence, bravery and courage, and so forth."

"So?" Elisa said, wincing.

"I assume then you must be these Venes I've heard so much about then?" Demona interrupted them, not letting Cecile answer the detective's question.

Cecile shrugged. "One of them, yes. But enough talk. We got a lot to do tonight, and very little time. Big daddy's coming, and I don't want to disappoint him when he gets here." Without another word, she raised her hands and clapped them.

Elisa grunted, as she was shoved forward into the circle that had been drawn into the floor. She heard Demona snarl, as she futilely resisted. And from the sack in Thailog's arms, all she heard was tiny squeaks from a woman, as she was manhandled too.

Elisa wondered what other poor soul they had dragged into this?

Cecile Vene walked toward them, and too entered the circle. She began chanting in something that sounded like something between a cross of Latin and Chinese. She had never heard anything like it.

After a few moments, Cecile shifted her hand into her pocket and withdrew something that resembled a large tooth, and with a hard throw; she threw it into the ground.

A bright flash suddenly filled the sky, and Elisa had to close her eyes from the sheer brightness. She couldn't hear Demona. She supposed that with her knowledge of magic, she would know about spells like this, and know about things like bright flashes and such.

As for the other woman, since she was wrapped up in a sack, Elisa didn't suppose she could see anything, but she did hear her squeal and yell a lot. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something familiar about the stranger's voice.

When the light died down, Elisa blinked and took a look about. She almost swore aloud in frustration. They were no longer on the roof, or unlikely anywhere near New York anymore. They seemed to be in a cave, a large one by the looks of it, filled with large bones.

'Terrific,' she thought. 'Just what I need… Getting whisked off to another strange land. What's next? Another world tour?'

A sudden loud scream halted her thoughts, and she looked up to the sack in Thailog's arms, looking as though it was getting ready to commit murder.

"Stand still, will you?" Thailog roared, but whoever the woman was, she was obviously more of a talker than a listener.

"Let me out this instant, do you hear me?" She cursed them all. "You picked the wrong attorney to deal with, let me tell you! I'll see you all in court, have you sentenced to 100 years hard labour, and when your sentence is done, I'll have you all stretched out on the rank, your eyes gouged out, and hanged!"

Cecile raised her eyebrows. "Obviously the trip didn't agree with you then?" she said amused. "Thailog, let her go."

Thailog grunted, and snapped the ropes free with his talons, and snatched the sack off of her.

Elisa did a double take when she saw who it was… It was none other than Margot Yale, District Attorney, and no doubt one of the clan's biggest opposers.

"You really have a knack for getting into the clan's business, don't you, Miss Yale?" Elisa murmured.

"What is the meaning of…?" Margot started, but stopped, as Thailog grabbed her mouth, and growled fiercely at her.

"Forgive Thailog," Cecile chuckled. "He doesn't have the best patience in the world when it comes to lawyers."

Margot Yale hissed at the young woman. Who was this young upstart to talk to her so?

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Margot insisted, only to be interrupted by a deep tremor that sounded through the ground.

Cecile smiled, and turned around. "You're about to find out… Ladies, allow me to introduce your host for the evening… and possibly all of eternity!"

All three of them looked as though they were about to speak, but stopped when they saw a large golden-brown clawed foot land in front of them. They raised their heads up, up and further up, until they came face to face with a dragon's snout.

"Ladies?" the dragon greeted them in its loud deep voice. "Welcome to my kingdom!"

Margot squeaked in fear. Elisa felt an urge to at least gasp, as she had never seen a real-live dragon before, at least not one that had talked before. Demona kept her cool, and just regarded the creature in interest.

Cecile bowed her head respectively to the ancient beast. "Draco," she waved to the women in tow. "Meet your _dates_."

"DATES?" all three of them exclaimed.

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Taken: PART 20

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

Demona, Elisa, and Margot Yale stood before the gigantic mythological creature.

Demona stood tall and proud, not once showing fear, something that Elisa had to admit that she had always admired about her. But there was nevertheless a look of apprehension about her, her eyes constantly watching for any sign of attack, and possible weaknesses that the dragon might possess.

Elisa was quick to follow her example, whereas Margot on the other hand chose to simply cower before the mighty beast. It was one thing to make accusations against such creatures like the Gargoyles… but against something as horrific and enormous as this Dragon… _No_ thank you!

The Dragon, Draco, stood before and above them, regarding each of them carefully, his eyes wandering over them as though seeking out their strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, he raised his eyes to the Vene girl. He seemed to regard her with something that seemed like a cross between gratitude, and forced tolerance.

"They will do," he said simply.

"You remember your part in the deal?" Cecile reminded him.

Draco nodded his massive head. ""As agreed," he confirmed.

Cecile nodded, and then looked back at the three chosen females, smiling charmingly at them, with Thailog behind her. "Enjoy your stay," she said as a sign of farewell.

Thailog threw Margot forward, resulting in her landing hard on her rear, while Cecile threw a pouch of powder to the ground, resulting in a huge cloud of smoke covering them, before dispensing and leaving the rest of them all alone, save for the Dragon.

Demona snarled, looking for them, but saw nothing.

Elisa and Margot both kept their eyes on the Dragon, Elisa in case it made to attack, while Margot was just too petrified to look away.

The dragon peered closely at them, its eyes searching right through them.

"You each possess a definite spark," it stated. "One of you has gone through many a year of loneliness, and has developed an unusually dark rage. Its fire is unlike any I have felt before… "

"Gee, I wonder who he's talking about," Elisa said sarcastically, earning a low growl from Demona.

"The other of you," the Dragon continued, "has a spirit almost equal to that of the first, but its fire is nowhere near as consuming. I also sense no loneliness or contempt within you."

The Dragon lifted its head, as though sniffing the air. "The last one among you has a fiery spirit also, but it is nowhere near as strong as the other two. It burns brightly, but can easily be quenched given the right attitude."

The Dragon stared down at them again. "Yes, I believe the three of you will be quite suitable," it remarked. "Come!"

Before either of them could blink, the Dragon's tail snaked out from behind the huge beast, and curled its way around the three of them.

Demona screeched, attacking the Dragon's hide with her talons, but it was like trying to cut her way through concrete. The Dragon's hide was unbelievably dense. It made the perfect armour.

"My mother once suggested that I go out on a blind date," Elisa reminisced, as the Dragon carried them away. "But somehow, I don't think this was what she had in mind?"

0000000000

**Destine Manor, Same Time: **

Griff made his way to where he thought Demona's study was. He still hadn't fully familiarised himself with the house, and had made one or two wrong turns on the way.

Darlene had gone to check on her mother a while ago. She said she wouldn't be long, but it had been well over 15 minutes now. He hoped that Demona and Darlene hadn't got into another fight. Darlene hadn't said anything, but he suspected that Demona was not all too keen on their relationship.

Griff sighed. Out of all the trails he imagined he would face, the quests he would endure, and the difficult decisions and hard battles he would have to make… He never imagined that trying to make nice to a potential future mother in law would be one of them.

Griff felt like stopping. Mother in law? Hell, he and Darlene were only just starting to date.

After making a couple more wrong turns, Griff finally found himself at the door to Demona's study. He pricked up his ears, listening for the sounds of any shouting or fighting. So far, he could hear nothing, which was a good sign.

He briefly considered going back to the living room to wait for Darlene, but then he decided against it, considering how long he had been looking for this damn room, he thought the least he could do was find out if everything was okay.

Griff ran his claw through his hair, and adjusted his leather shirt. It was always important for one to look one's best, as his rookery mother had always taught him and his siblings. He then raised his claw to knock on the door, but he barely touched it before the door creaked open.

Griff didn't bother to wait or consider why the door was left slightly open. It could have been a number of things, but at the time… Griff only knew a few things, and that was that Darlene had taken longer that was needed, and she and her clan were in danger from a dangerous enemy… He didn't need another second to think.

Griff rushed through the door, and as feared, the room was in shambles. He soon heard the low but unmistakable moans of Darlene, and traced them over to where a pile of books was lying. He raced over and practically threw the books out the window, as he dug through them until he found Darlene's swooning face.

"Darlene?" Griff asked frantically. He checked her vitals, making sure she wasn't injured.

Darlene moaned, as she lifted her head.

"Don't move," Griff told her, keeping her still. "Lay still. You might have a concussion."

"Mother!" Darlene realised, remembering. "Where's mother?" She tried to sit up, but was still too hazy.

"Stay still!" Griff ordered her. "I don't know where your mother is. I'll call Lana and Gabriel, and ask them to start looking…"

"No," Darlene breathed heavily. "There was… something here. It took mother."

"What was it?" Griff enquired.

Darlene frowned. "I don't know. I never saw it before, not even in my magical studies with mother. It came through the window, had mother in its clutches, just as I was coming to see her. I tried to… "

"It's all right," Griff assured her. "I'll call the clan and get them to start looking. We will find your mother, I promise you."

Darlene didn't say anything, and just lay her head back, her head aching.

"Gran?" Jarred's voice called out, and he soon entered the study. "Mom!" he cried out, seeing his mother lying injured.

"It's okay, Jarred," Griff told him, as he rushed over to his mother's side. "Nothing's broken. She's just had the wind taken out of her. She'll be okay in a little while. Have you seen your sister or Gabriel?"

Jarred shook his head. "They went out," he said. "Said they were going to catch a movie or something."

Griff nodded. "Then I need to call the clan and inform them of what's happened. Stay here with your mother. Make sure she's kept comfortable." He said, checking her vitals once again.

Jarred nodded, and Griff raced off to the telephone.

0000000000

**Eyrie Building: **

"I understand," Owen said into the telephone, hanging up immediately. The moment he did, he went straight into the Great Hall where Brooklyn and Lexington were playing cards.

"Hey, Owen," they both said, greeting him without even looking up.

"Where is Goliath?" Owen simply said.

Brooklyn and Lex instantly raised their heads, as Owen might be strict and wooden, but he had always at least said hello. The only time when he didn't bother greeting them was when something was up.

"I have just received word from Griff at Demona's home," Owen informed them. "Demona was attacked, according by Darlene, by some unknown creature. She said it resembled some sort of demon, but she couldn't be certain. It carried Demona off, and they have no idea where they are now."

"Goliath's in the library, waiting for Elisa," Brooklyn told him. "She should be back by now, so we'll get the clan together and start looking."

Owen nodded, and made his way to the library.

"Guess we'd better tell Angela?" Lex said worriedly. Like Brooklyn, he had no great love for Demona considering all that had past between them, but he knew Angela cared for her a great deal, and did not want to see her sad. Brooklyn felt the same.

Brooklyn frowned.

"What's up?" Lex asked him.

"Nothing, except…" Brooklyn scowled. "It's nothing."

Lex cocked an eye-ridge at him, but said nothing and followed him to the kitchen, as wherever Broadway was, Angela was most likely.

0000000000

**Destine Manor: **

Darlene groaned, as she came to.

"Mom?" Jarred's eager voice spoke to her.

Darlene strained her eyes to open, and soon saw her son's worried face staring down at her.

"Ja… Jarred?" she moaned. "What happened?"

"Griff said something attacked you?"

Darlene's eyes opened up fully, as her memory returned. "Call Goliath," she said urgently. "We have to get the whole clan together. There was some kind of demon here, which took… "

"Demona," Griff's voice finished for her, as he came back into the study. "Yes, we know. You told me before you past out. I've already contacted Mr Burnett at the Eyrie, and he assures me he will inform the clan and have them report to us immediately."

Darlene sighed in relief, but continued rubbing her forehead painfully. "Some date, huh?" she said bemused.

Griff smiled. "It's certainly a lot more interesting that some other dates I've been on, that I can assure you."

Darlene cocked an eye-ridge at him. "How many dates have you been on?"

Griff blushed. "Well, including you… about four or five."

Darlene grinned.

Jarred on the other hand had a gagged look upon his face. "If you two are gonna get all soppy, can I leave?"

0000000000

**Destine Manor; Half Hour Later: **

The clan soon arrived at Destine Manor, with the exception of Elisa, but everyone just assumed that she was still at the precinct giving a report to Chavez.

King Arthur was with them of course. Griff, being his first knight, had to keep him informed of all things. He had been the first one he had called, and Arthur had insisted on coming to help, as only a honourable warrior should. He had got one of the clan to give him a lift, as he was still living with them, but had stayed quite clear of Goliath.

Despite Goliath having calmed down a lot since his outburst at Arthur for not allowing them to use Excalibur to defeat and destroy the Vene children, they still had yet to bury the hatchet.

Arthur knew that Goliath was under a lot of stress with trying to figure out how to deal with the Venes, but despite how evil they were, in Arthur's eyes they were still just children, and using Excalibur, quite possibly the most holy weapon ever forged, to murder them was unthinkable.

Goliath on the other hand was just plain stubborn, stuck to his principals, and refused to even acknowledge the king.

"How long ago was Demona taken?" Goliath immediately asked, as he entered the mansion, seeing Darlene.

Darlene had by now fully recovered from her ordeal. Being Demona's daughter, her mother had taught her to be strong in the face of adversity, no matter how tragic. But even so, Darlene was finding it hard not to break down and cry right about now.

"Almost an hour," she said. "I went to see mother about something, and when I got there, something was attacking her. I don't know for sure what it was, but it looked like some kind of demon."

Goliath kept his usual stoic stature, but the word 'demon' sent something through him, as he remembered their half-demon guest back at the Eyrie.

"It looked like a large black cloud," Darlene continued, "with tentacles. I think it had a face, but I don't know for sure. Everything's just a blur, as I was more focused on trying to fight it than to observe it."

Goliath turned to Lex. "Lexington, contact Elisa and have her check to see if anything like this creature has been seen recently."

Lex immediately began tapping on his communicator.

"Is there anything else you can think of, Darlene?" Goliath urged his former mate's daughter. "Anything at all that could help us?"

Darlene sighed, shaking her head. "No," she said bitterly. "I'm sorry, but I just don't remember. I don't even know who would want to kidnap her?"

Brooklyn gave a small snort, but kept silent.

"I mean," Darlene carried on. "All of Mother's enemies have been dealt with now, as far as I know. Macbeth's no longer hunting her, and Castaway doesn't have the resources, at least not for any magical items. The only other sorcerers I can think of who would conduct this are… "

"The Venes," Goliath finished for her grimly.

"But why?" Darlene asked, wondering. "I know you and the Venes are at war, but let's face it… My mother isn't exactly a close ally of yours, and I doubt they know about her being Angela's mother. The Venes and my mother have never even met before. Why would they go after her?"

"Who knows what's in Demona's past?" Brooklyn grumbled. "OW!" he yelped, as Broadway punched him in the arm, glaring at him, as Angela was close by, too.

Angela went up to her sister, trying to comfort her. Griff was standing close by with Gem in his arms, rocking her gently, while Jarred just stood by looking worried about his grandmother.

"Who knows what the Venes know about us," Goliath pondered. "No doubt they've been trying to get as much information about us as they can. They might already know about Demona's involvement with us, and are trying to exploit that."

"But why?" Broadway asked. "Blackmail? I mean, no offence to your mom or anything, Darlene. But like you said, Demona's history with us isn't exactly all bright and shiny. If they were going to use someone to get back at us, why didn't they go for someone we had a better relationship with?"

"Goliath!" Lex's shrill voice suddenly sounded. "I just got off with Matt! Elisa's not answering her communicator, and according to Matt, she left the station ages ago. She told him she was heading right back to the Eyrie!"

Goliath's face froze in horror, as did everyone else's in the room.

"When you're right, you're right, Broadway," Brooklyn said fearfully.

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension; One Hour Later: **

"Just what is it that we're supposed to do here?" Margot snapped.

After the Dragon had carried them off, it had brought them into another cavern that was even larger than the whole of Castle Wyvern. Once there, the Dragon who called himself Draco left them on a high cliff, saying he would get to them later.

"I'm sure I don't know, human," Demona hissed at her. "But I have no intention to stick around here to find out." She said as she observed her surroundings, checking out the stone walls.

"Can't your Gargoyle just fly us down?" Margot asked Elisa sharply.

Elisa thought about warning Miss Yale about being careful with what she said around Demona, but Demona was already speaking.

"My name is Demona, Human!" she growled. "Not gargoyle! And in answer to your earlier query, my kind does not fly, we glide. And there are no air currents here, so if I were to try such a thing, all I would do is fall to the ground like a stone."

"Can you climb down?" Elisa asked more politely.

Demona nodded. "Yes, but I'll have to carry you on the way down."

Elisa raised an eyebrow. "Demona," she said, a little surprised. "Don't tell me you are actually concerned for my welfare?"

Demona's eyes flared red. "The only reason I'm even thinking about taking you with me is because I will need all the help I can get to escape this Dragon's world! Not to mention what Angela would say if I were to leave you behind. I do not know why she values you so, but I do not question her."

"Thanks a lot," Elisa said sarcastically.

"Wait a minute!" Margot suddenly asked. "You know other Gargoyles, detective?"

Elisa swore. "Um, I have had… "

"Know them?" Demona snorted. "She's married to… what you would call, my ex-husband."

"Husband?" Margot stared in shock at the now frowning Elisa Maza. "You're married to a Gargoyle?"

"Thanks a lot again, Demona," she glared at the redheaded Gargess. "Anything else you wanna tell her?"

Demona snorted. "Please, detective. Look around us." She waved her claw around the cavern they were in. "Do you see any point in secrets now? We could be stuck here for days, and if she hasn't figured it out by now, then she's even more stupid than I thought. And even if she is, it won't take long to figure out that you and the clan have a connection."

Elisa hissed.

"That's why those people brought you here," Margot deducted. "When I was abducted, I overheard them talking about you, saying that taking you would really get your husband's ire up. I didn't know what they were talking about, as I know for a fact that you're not married."

"Keeping tabs on me now are you, Miss Yale?" Elisa said snidely.

Margot glared at her. "If I had known you were… "

"This is not the best time to be casting insults!" Demona snapped. "Unless the two of you wish to become Mrs Draco for the rest of eternity, I suggest you start making a move!"

Elisa and Margot both grumbled, but complied.

"Wait a minute!" Margot said, suddenly realising. "How am I supposed to get down?"

Demona and Elisa looked down, observing the tall height. One tiny slip, a single mistake, and you would fall to your death.

"Hmmm," Demona murmured. "Looks like quite a fall. I can't carry the two of you together, so maybe it would be best… " Demona smiled slowly. "… If I were to carry the detective down, and then come back for you later?"

Margot glared at the gargess. "No wonder you weren't bothered if I knew your secrets or not!" she shouted. "You're planning to leave me here on purpose!"

"Keep your voice down, Human!" Demona hissed at her.

"Why?" Margot seethed. "Just so you get down and then leave me up here for the rest of my life?"

"Miss Yale," Elisa said calmly. "I promise you, we won't be leaving you behind." She said, looking at Demona intensely. "Nobody gets left behind, okay?"

Demona stared incredously at her. "Are you serious?" she said unbelieving. "Out of all the humans, she is one of the least I care about. And now she's one who knows about your involvement with the clan. Do you honestly believe she'll keep her big mouth shut for your benefit?"

Elisa stared at her. "And whose fault is it that she now knows about me and the clan?"

Demona snorted. "Either way, I can't carry the both of you down."

Margot just continued glaring at them. "I neither want nor need any of your help, _Gargoyle_," she said, using the same sarcasm that Demona had used with her.

Demona seemed ready to bite back at her, but paused, as Margot was starting to make her way over to the edge of the cliff, and looked as though she was beginning to start climbing down it.

"What… are you doing?" Demona asked her incredously.

Margot snorted at her. "Giving myself a piggyback ride, what does it look like?" she said, as she started climbing down.

"Are you mad?" Elisa gasped, going to grab her arm. "Demona's gonna have problems getting down here, and she's got claws and wings."

"So I'll go slow," Margot persisted. "But I'm not staying here just so you two can run off and leave me here to be some overgrown sex-deprived lizard's mistress!" she continued climbing.

"Miss Yale, no!" Elisa grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back up. Demona on the other hand just stayed where she was, looking on in interest. She had never known a Human to be so brave, or foolish.

Get your hands off me!" Margot seethed at her, struggling to pull her arm out of Elisa's vice grip.

"Miss Yale, don't… " Elisa tried to warn her, but it was too late. In her haste to depart, Margot lost her footing and tumbled over the side.

"Whoaaaa! Margot squealed, as she fell over. Elisa was quick to try and come to her aid, whereas Demona seemed to take a few moments to seemingly evaluate the situation, and even then she merely walked over to the cliff where Elisa now was.

"You took your sweet time getting over here," Elisa said between breaths, as she struggled to hold onto the district attorney.

Demona didn't answer, and just looked at the fallen lawyer, dangling over the side.

"Well?" Elisa said impatiently.

"Well what?" Demona replied.

Elisa looked at her incredulously. "Aren't you gonna help me? This woman's nowhere near as light as she appears."

Demona still did nothing. "You know how I dislike to repeat myself, detective," she said. "I meant what I said… You may be willing to risk your safety and that of the clan, Human. But I am not! This woman, once she escapes, will divulge all that she has learnt, and in doing so will endanger the lives of the clan including that of my daughters and grandchildren… I will not allow this!"

"Demona, I can't… " Elisa never got to finish what she was going to say, as Margot's hand had then slipped right through her fingers.

Margot screamed, as she felt herself fall to the ground. Before attempting to climb down, she had seen enough of the ground to know that it was filled with jagged rocks and some rivers of hot malted lava.

She hoped if there was a God that he would see to it that this Gargoyle Demona and Detective Maza would spend the rest of their lives cleaning out between the toes of that blasted Dragon.

As she felt herself nearing the surface of the ground, she closed her eyes to prepare herself for the coming fall that would no doubt leave her body completely broken.

She heard the air whistle around her, as she fell like a stone, but before she even reached the bottom…

"You should be more careful around that ledge," a deep voice said to her.

Margot's eyes snapped open, and she found herself to be hovering in mid-air, just mere meters above the ground where even now a large sharp jagged rock was there. If she had fallen just a couple of meters more, she would have ended up with that rock's point right through her midsection.

She looked up and found the Dragon's dark eyes staring down at her. She shrieked a little, but the Dragon just chuckled.

"You were willing to risk your life climbing down a small mountain," he said. "One that certainly spelt doom. Yet you are still afraid of me?"

Margot looked up fearfully at him. "The jagged rocks didn't have teeth," she replied.

The Dragon laughed. "You have a good sense of humour," he said. "I like that."

Elisa and Demona stared at each other.

"First time I've ever heard she has a good sense of humour," Elisa said a little amazed.

"I didn't know she was ever born with one," Demona mused.

The Dragon looked at all three of them. "You are all born with spirits of fire," he said, looking at them proudly. "You each have the fire of the Dragon within you. Strength, pride, independence, and strong will all reside with you."

"How nice," Demona growled. "Do we get a gold star?"

"Anger too, apparently," the Dragon cocked his eye-ridge. "But there is still much to see and do." He suddenly raised his mighty head and roared, louder than a hundred lions.

Before either of them could raise their hands to their ears, they vanished.

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**Destine Manor: **

"What happened?" Goliath demanded, marching up to Lexington.

Lex quivered a little under his leader's mighty stature and glare, but still stood up straight. ""No one knows," he said. "Elisa went to her precinct to give her report, she finished and she said she was going to head straight back home. That was the last anyone's seen of her, and no one can get her on the radio."

Goliath growled. "First Demona, now Elisa! This can't be a coincidence!"

"Not just them," Lex suddenly said. "Matt also told me that the district attorney, Margot Yale, has disappeared too."

"Margot Yale?" Brooklyn asked surprised. "The one who's always going on about us to the press, and who keeps running into us with that boyfriend of hers?"

"Yeah," Lex nodded. "Only the guy finally caught on and dumped her. Seems they just got a divorce."

"Whatever!" Goliath roared. "Where was Elisa last seen?"

"Just when she was leaving the precinct," Lex reported. "Her car's missing so they just assumed she went home."

"Someone could have taken it?" Arthur spoke up. "So no one would suspect she was missing."

Goliath nodded. "Have they tried locating Elisa's car?"

Lex listened in to his radio for a moment. "They've got cops on the lookout for it, but so far nothing's turned up."

"Then we will join the search," Goliath concluded. "Brooklyn, you and Lexington will search east. Lexington, if you hear anything new, contact us all immediately on your… "

"Hey!" Darlene's voice sounded. "I'm sorry for what's happened to Elisa and everything, but what about my mother? You can't just drop her aside like an old sack of potatoes!"

Goliath wanted to shout and roar at her, telling her that his Elisa's search would take precedence over Demona's any day of the week… But looking into her face, seeing the worry and concern that she held for her mother, he remembered how he had felt when he had thought Hudson had been turned into stone, and when Angela had been taken by Sevarius in Scotland.

Goliath sighed. "Brooklyn and Lex will take the east, but be on the lookout for Demona as well. The same goes for everyone else. I have no doubt that these disappearances are not just a coincidence, and Margot Yale's disappearance only strengthens my belief."

Darlene seemed conflicted for a moment, but finally she nodded, gratefully accepting a comforting claw from Griff.

Goliath viewed her fear and worry for her mother. He knew this kind of reaction was natural for a Human, but not for a Gargoyle. Despite his grown relationship with Angela, it still disconcerted him the way gargoyle tradition had faded somewhat in the past millennium, as Gargoyles didn't usually bond with their children in the same way that Humans did. A child was raised not by one or two single parents, but by all of the clan.

"Angela," Goliath ordered his daughter. "Stay here with Darlene. Arthur, since you can't glide, I suggest you remain here with them also. Should this creature that Darlene described return, then they'd need all the help they can get."

Arthur didn't seem all too fond of the idea of being left behind, but he nodded, accepting Goliath's logic.

"The rest of you," Goliath continued. "Split up and search everywhere you can. Leave nothing to chance, search every street and building if you have to."

The clan quickly nodded, and raced out the balcony doors, gliding off into the night.

"Darlene," Goliath turned his head to speak to her, as he made his way over to the balcony. "Should anyone contact you in regards to Demona, or Elisa. Use Angela's radio to contact us immediately, understand?"

"I will, and Goliath…?" Darlene looked at him worriedly. "I'm sure both my mother and your wife will be fine, and they'll be home with us soon enough."

Goliath nodded, though there was an air of uncertainty around him as he did so. He then turned back to the balcony, diving out through the window, soaring off into the sky.

"Do you think it's safe for him to be out, considering what may have happened to Elisa?" Arthur asked his knight Griff.

"It would be even less safe if we tried to stop him," Griff told him.

Arthur had to admit… Griff had him there.

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**Dragon Dimension: **

Demona, Elisa and Margot blinked their eyes, as they adjusted to their either newer surroundings. They seemed to be in another cavern that was identical to the previous one, except now they were on the ground, which aside from the tiny spot that they were now all on, was burning with red-hot coals.

"Ohhh yeah," Elisa muttered sarcastically. "_This_ is gonna be a lot of fun!"

Demona eyed her distastefully, but was more focused on the cavern. "Obviously he means us to somehow get across this cavern," she said.

Elisa gave her an obvious look. "Gee, ya think?"

Demona glared at her. "If you have any better ideas… "

"Don't start that again!" Elisa shouted at her. "Let's just figure a way out of this one!" She stared at the burning hot coals for a moment. "Okay, you obviously can't glide… How far do you think you'll be able to run across here before your feet burn up?"

Demona frowned. "It is true that Gargoyle hides are much tougher than frail Human skin," she said almost boastfully.

"Can the arrogance, how far?" Elisa demanded.

Demona gave a short snarl, and then sighed. "As tough as my hide is, even with the sister's healing spell of immortality, I doubt I could barely run a few feet before my own begin to blister."

"And I'd be lucky to run even one footstep," Elisa sighed. "Options?"

Demona looked all around her, but the single spot of ground that wasn't burning, had no other items on it, only rocks.

"Well, you can just forget this!" Margot announced, sitting down abruptly. "I'm not going to put up with this just so some overgrown lizard can have himself a good laugh!"

"What a wonderful attitude," Demona remarked coldly. "Keep that up and you can enjoy an eternity sitting alone here on this isle of rock in a sea of fire."

Margot and Demona glared at each other fiercely.

"Keep it together, ladies," Elisa told them. "Demona, what about the rocks here?" She pointed to the various sizes of rocks and stones piled at their feet.

"What about them?" Demona snapped.

Elisa however ignored her snippy temper for the moment. "How long do you think it will take for these rocks to heat up once we threw them on the coals?"

Demona shrugged. "What am I, a blacksmith?" she replied. "How should I know? And what does it matter?"

Elisa walked around a little, gathering up some of the larger flat-faced rocks that she could find. "It's not that far to the other side," she thought out loud. "Maybe if we threw some of these larger rocks onto the coals, and walked across them… "

"Then maybe we could get across before they burned up?" Margot finished for her.

Demona snorted. "That's ridiculous," she said. "Look at the heat radiating from those coals… They'd burn up in almost an instant."

"Yes, but not right away," Elisa insisted, still gathering more rocks. "If we were quick, running as fast as threw the stones down… then maybe we could make it."

"This is lubricous," Demona scoffed.

"At the very least, you could probably make it. The time it would take for the stones to burn, plus your tough hide might give you the time to get to the other side."

"But what good does that do us?" Margot suddenly asked.

"Nothing, as far as I can see," Demona smirked a little. "Something that works in my favour as well."

"Not now, Demona," Elisa spoke up before Margot could bite back. "Just help me gather up all the large flat-stones you can fine."

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**Somewhere Over Manhattan: **

"Has there been any word?" Goliath spoke into his receiver, hoping for some word on his wife.

"_Sorry, Goliath," _Lex's voice came over the radio. "_Still no sign of Elisa." _

Goliath sighed deeply, his anger threatening to spill out of control. "Keep searching then," he simply said, and terminated the connection.

Goliath felt like when he had been a hatchling, helpless and afraid, unable to help himself or any of those around him. He knew the Venes had to be behind this, but unless they just suddenly dropped out of the sky, he knew it was unlikely they would find them anytime soon.

There was still the option of using Miss Sarah Foster's demon vision powers, but… Owen had warned them all that using the powers of a demon was extremely dangerous. Not even Oberon, who was the most powerful and arrogant Fey of them all, had been brave or stupid enough to try that.

Still… if Elisa wasn't found soon then maybe…

Goliath suddenly pricked up his ears, as he heard something. It sounded like the whoosh of a Gargoyle's wing behind him, but he had come out alone, and had split all the others up into their own pairs.

Goliath glided down closer to some buildings, made a sharp left around one, and then quickly landed his claws into the side of the building, halting himself.

He tensed up, straining his ears for the sound again. It came immediately. Whoever this was, he was no good at trailing. Goliath could hear him coming from a mile off.

Goliath prepared himself, waited a few more seconds, and then…

"YIKES!" Jarred squealed, as he came round the corner and found Goliath leaping on him from up above.

Goliath's eyes widened in surprise, but quickly turned around in the air, holding onto Jarred, as they landed on the ground. He stared down intensely at the little hatchling who was now gulping in his arms.

"Err," Jarred gave a feeble wave to his grandmother's ex-boyfriend. "Hello, uncle Goliath?" he tried sweetly.

Goliath's eyes flared white-silver for a second, and then dropped Jarred harshly onto his feet, turned him around to face him, and then folded his arms.

"What… are you doing here?" he said, demanding an explanation.

Jarred nervously poke his feet at the ground. "Umm… Would you believe out for a late night stroll?"

Goliath just gave him a hard look.

"Didn't think so."

"I repeat," Goliath stared at him hard. "What are you doing here?"

Jarred stuck out his chin, looking proud, and trying to look strong (with not success). "My grandmother's in trouble, and the thing that took her hurt my mother. I wanna help. "

Goliath sighed. "Jarred, I appreciate your help, and admire your bravery, but this is not something for hatchlings to… "

"I'M NOT A HATCHLING!" Jarred suddenly roared, startling even Goliath.

Jarred breathed heavily for a moment, and then started to look sorry. "Sorry," he apologised, "but I'm not."

Goliath mentally rolled his eyes, but still kept his stoic look. "In any case, I doubt your mother would appreciate me taking you with me. Please return home."

"Mom knows you're one of the best warriors there is," Jarred insisted. "She knows I'd be safe with you, and I'm sure she'd want me to help if I could, to save Grandma. And besides, all we're doing is looking around the city. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Goliath sighed. "Jarred, I… "

"Please!" Jarred begged. "I really, really wanna help."

Goliath looked into his big wide eyes, looking pleadingly at him. Finally, he relented.

"Very well," he sighed again. "But I must inform your mother where you are… and no matter what, you are to stay close to me at all times, and above all else… obey my every order, understand?"

Jarred nodded, and saluted him. "Aye aye, sir!"

Goliath groaned silently.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. The Decision: PART 21

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

0000000000

Goliath soared through the air with Jarred close behind him. They had been searching now for the past hour, but so far they had yet to find any signs of Elisa or Demona.

"Where are we gonna look now?" Jarred asked eagerly.

Goliath sighed. "I don't know," he said honestly. "By all rights, we should start looking for the Venes, as we know they must be behind this… but we don't even know where they are."

Jarred frowned. "What about that… kid, the one at the castle? You know, the one who's psychic?"

Goliath looked at him, his eyes widening in realisation. "Sarah… of course!"

"Maybe she can help?" Jarred suggested helpfully. "I mean, after all, she's supposed to be all-seeing and everything. Couldn't she tell us where everyone is?"

Goliath took his communicator, speaking into it urgently. "Everyone, return to the castle at once! We may have found a way to find Elisa!"

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

Elisa tossed the large flat-rocks over onto the hot burning coals. It wouldn't take long for the fire to burn through them, but they did have at least a few good seconds before that happened.

As she and the others, Demona and Margot, threw the rocks onto the red fiery lake, they jumped onto them and then threw another one, jumping onto that next one and then the other, and so on.

"Well, at this rate we should be across this lake in, oh say about… a thousand years!" Demona growled.

Elisa didn't stop to even glare at her. "Well, pick up a rock and help out, will you?" she said, not stopping as she threw more rocks onto the lake.

Demona growled, but obeyed, picking up a pile.

"Never did I dream I would be spending my night making a bridge across a field of red hot coals," Margot moaned. "This is seriously going to ruin my manicure."

"Oh my, how awful," Demona snorted, gaining a glare from the attorney.

"Save it for later!" Elisa ordered them, and then wondering if that had been such a good idea. Despite all the changes that Demona had gone through since the appearance of Angela, Darlene and her children, in her life, Elisa knew better than to expect miracles. She didn't doubt that Demona would rather skewer her than take orders from her.

Fortunately, it seemed Demona was more intent on escaping than exacting revenge for giving her an order, and just responded her comment with a hard look and nothing else.

The fiery heat burned from the coals through the stone. Before long, Elisa could feel the heat seeping through her trainers.

"We need to move faster!" she said urgently, pressing the other two on.

Together, the three of them raced to throw more of the flat-stones onto the heated coals, quickly stepping onto before their feet got burned off. It seemed to take hours, but eventually they gradually made their way to the other side of the burning lake.

Margot squealed, as she accidentally placed her foot down on the hot coals, leaping the rest of the way onto the cool ground, jumping about as though she were treading on nails.

Demona sneered at the attorney. "You people really have the most weak skin."

Margot sneered back. "Better than having to spend each day as a pigeon poop depository!"

Just as Demona looked as though she was going to leap at the woman, Elisa interjected.

"Okay!" she yelled. "I said wait until we were over the coals, but I didn't mean it! Wait until we're back home, and then you can go at each other's throats!"

"Clearly, you're the negotiator of this little group," the Dragon's voice declared.

The trio looked to where the voice had come from, seeing only a large pillar of rock before, but as they peered closer, they saw it change shape and take on the Dragon's mighty form, staring back at them.

"Very resourceful of you to use to the stones to get across," he said, looking like he was practically beaming at them.

"We're mighty glad you approve," Margot said sarcastically.

"What tricks do you want is to perform now?" Demona said angrily. "Pull a rabbit out of a hat, do a card trick… or jump into a boiling cauldron?"

The Dragon stared at her. "You're obviously the most angry one of the three here."

Elisa snorted almost in disbelief. "You don't know the half of it."

"Actually, for now," the Dragon started. "I would like some time alone with each of you. I believe I'll start with you, Miss Demona. The rest of you can rest in the waiting room."

"Hey, what… " Elisa started, but before she could finish… she and Margot vanished.

Demona looked around her, and saw that the burning lake of coals was now gone, replaced with a real lake of cool water.

"Please, have some water to replenish yourself, if you wish," the Dragon offered.

Demona spared him a glance, and then went over to the water's edge, testing the water with her nose, dapping a little on her tongue.

"I assure you, it is not poison," the Dragon called Draco said re-assuredly.

Seemingly satisfied, Demona took a huge grateful gulp of the water. She hadn't realised until then just how thirsty she was. The heat from the coals, lack of nourishment, plus the climbing she had to do earlier had left her severely weakened.

"Now then," Draco said after she had had her fill of water. "What shall we talk about?"

0000000000

**Eyrie Building: **

Sarah Vene, aka Sarah Foster, sat drawing on the paper that Owen had provided her with. A few moments later, she heard the sound of the door opening.

"Hello, Goliath," she greeted the clan-leader, not even bothering to look up to see if she was right, as she knew already he was coming before she had even heard the door open.

Goliath didn't look surprised, as he knew about her precognition powers long before then, as did the rest of the clan. He had once caught Brooklyn trying to get her to reveal the next winning numbers of the lottery, something that did not go over too well with him.

"Sarah," Goliath told her simply, "I need your help."

Sarah looked up at him, her large eyes staring at him blankly. "I know," she replied.

Goliath didn't bother to ask or even wonder how she knew, and just cut right to the chase. "My wife, Elisa, is missing. We suspect your… that is, the Venes, have taken her, along with Demona and possibly another woman. We need to know where they are."

Sarah sat where she was, idly twiddling a crayon on a paper. "You desire my visions to tell you where they are," she said.

Goliath nodded, his eyes staring at her almost imploringly.

Sarah sighed. "I can tell you where they are," she said, gaining a look of relief from the clan leader. "But I'm afraid it will do you no good."

Goliath's face first went to shock, despair, and then to anger. "Why not?" he demanded.

"Because your wife and the others have gone to the one place where you cannot follow," she explained. "Another dimension."

Goliath didn't loose his slowly bubbling anger inside of him. "We have past into other worlds before," he told her.

"If you're referring to Avalon," Sarah said. "This is not like the Fey's dimension, for theirs is connected directly to this world. Anyone can get to it with the right spell… but this world I speak of, it is beyond our dimensional barriers. You require magic of only the highest source to help you cross them."

"Where can I find such magic?"

Sarah shrugged. "Only places I know of are with the Venes," she told him. "But it matters not. Even if you were to find the appropriate magic, you will not get there in time."

"Why?" Goliath asked fearfully. "What's going to happen to them?"

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them, still looking at him blankly. "I cannot say. Even with my power, I cannot give a definite prophecy all the time. But this I do know… Out of the three that have left, only two will return."

"Which ones?"

Sarah looked sadly at him. "I don't know," she said quietly.

"Who has them?" Goliath ordered her to tell him.

Sarah remained unshaken, sitting where she was as still as a statue. "Someone who has both the power to help you with your fight against the Venes, and the power to cause you great harm."

"Who is this man?"

Sarah shook her head. "I speak of no man," she replied. "But you will have your answer before this night is over, for as with the world of the Fey, the world I speak of has its own definition of time."

"Time passes differently there, as on Avalon?"

Sarah nodded.

"Where are they?" he near pleaded.

"Somewhere beyond your reach, and even the reach that of the Fey," Sarah replied. "I can say no more."

Meanwhile, Jarred had been sitting outside the cell-room, where he had been told to stay by Goliath. He sat moodily, picking at his fangs and counting the tiles on the floor.

After what seemed like hours (but then again, to an impatient kid, anything seems like hours), the door to the dungeons opened, and Goliath walked out.

"Did she tell you where they are?" Jarred asked urgently.

Goliath sighed. "Let's wait until the others get here, then I will tell you everything."

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension; An Hour Later: **

Demona was close to frustration, anger and tears.

The Dragon elder had been asking her questions non-stop for the past hour, asking her about her life, her goals, and even what her hobbies were. That had been the most difficult question of all, as up to a few months ago her favourite hobbies had been plotting the eradication of all humankind.

But the really hard question had been talking about her past. The questions of her clan, their deaths, and her late mate, Darlene's father, had been enough to make her cry.

"Tell me," he continued. "Why do you…?"

"Enough!" Demona snarled. "I have had it with your questions! Tell me what it is you want and be done with it?"

Draco cocked an eye-ridge at her. "Straight to the point, huh? I can understand that."

Demona glared at him.

"I think I have learnt all that I need from you," he continued. "Now, with you down that only leaves two to go, so if you'll excuse me."

"Wha…?" Demona never got to finish.

Draco raised his front claw, and with a clap of them together, there was a flash and Demona was no longer there. But in her place, now stood Margot Yale.

"What in the world?" Margot said amazed, and then looked up fearful at the towering beast before her.

The Dragon smiled down at her. "So what shall you and I talk about then, hmmm?"

Margot stared at him, blinking.

0000000000

At the same time when Margot appeared in the Dragon's domain, Demona had returned to Elisa.

Elisa blinked at her reappearance. "I take it the counselling session is over?" she deduced slyly.

"Shut it, human!" Demona growled, and then looked around where she was.

The room was yet another cave, but this one had absolutely no exit, or any entrance she could see. There were only walls from side to side of her. The cave was however lavishly decorated with rich satin sheets, cushions, countless bowls filled with fresh fruit, fine meats, goblets with sweet smelling wine, water, and there was even a large bed in the corner.

"Seems he wants us to remain comfortable," Demona muttered.

"At least he's hospitable," Elisa said. "He's even got a small drain at the back there that we can use for a lavatory. He thought of everything."

"A drain?" Demona said, perking up.

"Yes, and before you say anything else," Elisa cut in. "The drain's no bigger than a Golf putting hole, so there's no exit there."

"Terrific," Demona snarled sarcastically. "So are we supposed to just waste away our years in this comfortable retreat then?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it," Elisa frowned. "If he intends to keep us all here, then he wouldn't bother with all the tests and questions, would he?"

Demona shrugged. "Maybe this is how he gets his kicks, as you humans would say. Perhaps this is what his race does, kidnap a few innocent females and amuses himself with them."

Elisa had to bite her tongue on the 'innocent' remark concerning Demona, but she had to admit that she did have a point. Humans were just as sick, so who was to say that Dragons weren't the same.

"So how much do you know about Dragons?" Elisa asked. "Anything you have would be most helpful at this point. Have you heard about anything that's happening to us… You know, anything that concerns a Dragon and three women?"

Demona frowned. "There is all the usual legends from your kind about women and children being sacrificed to satisfy the Dragon's hunger, nothing new with your kind."

"Anything else?" Elisa interjected, not bothering to feel insulted. "He's definitely not going to eat us. He would have done that to begin with, and there would be absolutely no point for all the testing. Anything else at all you can think of?"

Demona twisted her mouth, chewing on her lower lip as she racked her brain for any clues she could think of. She had studied and researched nearly every mystical creature she had heard of during the last 1000 years, anything to help pass the time and that could aid her in her quest for Humanity's destruction.

"I do recall one old myth," she said, suddenly remembering. "It was part of an ancient legend that I read in a single book's passage, but that is all."

"Anything's better than nothing?" Elisa said beyond interested.

"Well," Demona began hesitantly, trying to remember the old memories. It had been centuries since she had read that whole book, let alone that single passage. "As I recall, there was something about a certain number of women who were chosen to be given to the Dragon… "

"What for?"

"I don't know. Either I can't remember, or the book simply didn't say, but anyway… The women were given to the Dragons, but only some of them would return. One of them would remain behind with the Dragons, but what for, I do not know. I do remember however that in exchange for giving them their women, the Dragons would give the Humans responsible wondrous gifts."

"What kind of gifts?" Elisa questioned.

"I don't know. I do remember that part of the book, but all it said was that the gifts were beyond precious."

Elisa shrugged. "Well, that explains why the Venes were involved. They probably cut the same deal with this Dragon that the ancient Humans did. Who knows what he's given them? As if we weren't in enough trouble with them already."

Demona frowned. "I think that's all it said. I can't remember anything else."

Elisa sighed. "Well, I can't say I like the idea that not all of us maybe coming back from this. Got any ideas?"

Demona shrugged. "I have no technology on me, and as for my spells… I have none of my incantations, nor any idea of what might happen if I were to cast a mortal spell in this dimension. Fr all I know, it might have the same affect as when you try to mix Fey and mortal magic."

"And is that bad?" Elisa asked.

Demona shrugged. "Depends on what you determine as bad," she replied. "You've heard stories of the lost civilisations of Atlantis, Hiva and Arcadia?"

Elisa blinked.

"Apparently some sorcerer was attempting to make a spell made up of two sets of magics… It obviously didn't quite work out to plan."

Elisa shuddered.

0000000000

**Eyrie Building: **

"So that's the plan?" Brooklyn said in disbelief. "We wait?"

Goliath glared at him. "Unless you have a better plan then yes! The Venes are the only ones who possibly know where Elisa and Demona are, and unless we find out their location, we have no means of finding Elisa!"

Brooklyn glared back at his leader, but sighed inwardly, knowing that he was right.

"She did say for definite that Elisa was coming back, right?" Broadway asked hopefully.

Goliath sighed deeply. He wanted to say yes more than anything, but little Miss Sarah had been frank that out of the three women who had disappeared, only two would return, and she never said that Elisa would be one of the two.

"I hope so," he simply replied.

"Darlene's been working on a way to find them," Broadway reported. "Angela told she's been using every little bit of magic she's learnt over the years to find a way to locate them. What with Demona's vast library of sorcery, she's sure to find something."

Goliath nodded his appreciation. Anything to help them was well appreciated at this moment.

"So what do we do now?" Jarred perked up, asking eagerly.

Goliath gave a small smile to the hatchling. He had to admit that the kid had spunk. He was loathed to admit it, but he reminded him a lot of him when he was young. He remembered aggravating all the elders to no end whenever something was up at the castle.

"The only thing we can do, little warrior," Goliath replied sadly. "Wait… and hope."

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

"So is this like therapy or something?" Margot asked snidely.

The Dragon cocked its head at her. "Therapy?" it asked.

Margot snorted, turning her head from him.

A few moments of silence past, and the Dragon spoke once again. "You seem quite angry," he noticed.

Margot laughed almost in disbelief. "Gee, now I wonder why that is? Could it be that someone kidnapped me against my will, dragged me to some God forsaken world, and left me in the clutches of some overgrown lizard who hasn't had a date in some time!"

The Dragon laughed out loud at that. "Some time would be right, Miss Yale. I haven't actually been with anyone in centuries."

Margot blinked. "And I thought I had problem with dates," she muttered, but not low enough for the Dragon not to have heard her.

"You have trouble meeting people, too?" he enquired.

Margot stuck out her chin. "I wouldn't call it a problem," she told him. "I just choose not to socialise."

"Why?"

Margot looked at him curiously. "What business is it of yours?" she retorted. "If I choose not to go out on a Saturday night then that's only because I don't want to go out. Simple as that."

"Yes, very simple," the Dragon said seemingly agreeing. "If you _really_ want to be alone."

"Maybe I do," Margot scoffed.

"Did you loose someone important in your life?" the Dragon suddenly asked.

"What?" Margot looked up at him surprised.

"Did you loose someone who was important to you, a lover or child perhaps?"

Margot bit her tongue not to laugh out. "I just lost my husband, if that's what you mean. Though I'd hardly call it despairing, or him important."

The Dragon cocked its head again. "He wasn't important to you?"

"Not even on my Christmas list," Margot replied, turning up her nose.

"What about your family, such as your parents?"

Margot turned her head down at that, but only for a moment. "My mother recently past away, yes. That was upsetting, but I got over it. People live, people die… great circle of life and all that."

"But I sense you were disclosed long before your mother's passing," the Dragon seemed to be reading right through her. "What about your father?"

"He died when I was a kid," Margot said quickly, not enjoying this particularly form of questioning. She felt like she was in the Witness Box, and she didn't like it one bit. "I never knew him."

"But you do remember some things."

"What is this, psychology 101?" Margot snapped. "He died, I got over it, end of story!"

"Did you?"

"What sort of stupid question is that? I'm alive here, aren't I? I'm not insane… Course I got over it."

"Then why are you so bitchy all the time?"

"Well, it's not like I… HEY!"

The Dragon laughed. "Sorry, but you have to admit you do seem a bit uptight most of the time… not including today's events."

Margot stopped for a moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts. "Okay, maybe I do get a little high-strung sometimes… but it's only because I've worked damn hard to get where I am today. I don't intend to let anything stand in my way of my career."

"Not even when it could mean growing old and dying alone?"

"What, did you know my mother or something?" Margot snorted. "You sound just like her."

"A wise woman then," the Dragon complimented. "Your course is clear, even to you… Working towards a strong career maybe worth a lot in your world, but I doubt it's the only thing worth importance in your race. If all you have is work, with no one to share your successes with, then what would be the point in continuing?"

Margot couldn't think of an answer to that, and just remained silent.

"Well," the Dragon suddenly spoke up. "Your hour, as the shrinks say in your world, is up."

With that, there was a bright flash, and Margot was gone.

0000000000

**Bedford Hotel; Broadway: **

"Are you going to sit down anytime soon?" Thailog said, as Cecile past by him on her endless paces up and down the hotel room.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm thinking," Cecile snapped at him.

"What's to think about?" Thailog asked curiously. "You gave the big lizard his three dates, his bound by his word to give you what you wanted, end of story. What more can you think about?"

Cecile spared him a glance, and then said, "I'm thinking about whether or not to attack the clan now they've lost one of their own."

Thailog shook his head. "I wouldn't bother. The clan do value Detective Maza most highly, but it's not as if they've never fought without her before. If anything, the loss of their friend, or in Goliath's case his mate, might lead them to fight even fiercer than they've done so far."

Cecile shrugged. "Maybe you're right," she admitted. "But it does seem an awful pity to waste such an opportunity to rub in their faces that we know something they don't about their missing comrade."

"Not if you want to keep your own face intact, it doesn't," Thailog replied.

Cecile scoffed. "As if they could ever get close enough."

"What about that kid sister of yours, the Seer?" Thailog suddenly enquired. "Can't she tell them anything?"

"A lot I fear," Cecile replied calmly. "But none of it that will do them any good."

"How do you mean?"

Cecile just shrugged again, but didn't say anything.

"I still think we should… " she started again.

"Oh why go on about maybes and ifs?" Thailog interrupted, hoping that she wouldn't decide to give him another punishment. "Everything has gone by as planned so far, so… why don't we just relax… and enjoy the moment?"

Cecile looked back at him, and suddenly noticed that he had removed his loincloth, this time without her telling him to do so.

Thailog lay naked across the bed, stretching out his muscles, and patted the bed with his tail. "Something to relax you, ma'am?" he asked casually.

Cecile smiled, and started to unbutton her blouse.

Thailog continued smiling seductively, as she stripped, but underneath he had a load of different thoughts and emotions running through his head…

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

Elisa blinked, as she found herself out of the comfortable cavern, and in a new one that was bare of any of the comforts she had accustomed herself to.

"Forgive the décor," the loud, deep unmistakable voice of the Dragon said above her. "But my needs are simple."

Elisa jumped slightly, staring up at him. 'You'd think I would have no trouble noticing a huge freakin' thing like him,' she thought, and added out loud. "So what happens now, we chat?"

Draco shrugged. "If you wouldn't mind."

"Hey, it's not as if it's any worse than all the other stuff I've put up with tonight," she replied, settling down on a rock close to her, continuing to look up at him. 'Or if I have any choice in the matter,' she thought.

The Dragon stared right at her, or seemingly through her, and after more than a minute, he finally said. "You have a lover?"

Elisa blinked. "Don't tell me Dragons are psychic?"

"In part," he said. "Tell me about your intended."

Elisa felt a little uncomfortable about talking about Goliath, but seeing little choice in the matter, she complied.

"Well, for starters," she began, "he's not my intended, he's my husband."

"You're married?" Draco said, seemingly shocked.

Elisa nodded.

"I was unaware of this," he replied. "The Venes should have made sure that you were available."

Elisa gave him a hard look. "I realise you come from a different era, pal. But single or not, no woman should be taken, against her will, and brought into a dating show for single, lonely Dragons! It's not right!"

The Dragon gave her a solemn look, seemingly despairing. "Forgive my actions," he replied. "But I should point out that it was the Venes who did the taking, not me… "

"But you gave them the go ahead, didn't you?" she accused. "You told them to go kidnap us and bring us here. It didn't matter that neither of us wanted to come, or that the Venes were after something in return. You just wanted to get lucky!"

In her anger, she didn't notice the single tear that elicited from one of the Dragon's eyes.

"I just want peace," Draco moaned. "I can never die, not unless there's a Dragon to take my place as the supreme elder. And I've lived so long now, far longer than any Dragon has lived before, alone and miserable. I just… I couldn't take it any longer. No Dragon has ever endured loneliness before. It is as uncommon an emotion to us, as breathing fire and flying through the air is to you."

'Well, you got the breathing fire part right anyway,' Elisa thought. "Surely there must have been some other way?" she asked.

The Dragon sighed deeply. "I am the last of my kind. No one of your race believes we still exist, or if we even existed at all. I cannot go to your world, as I cannot leave here ever. So what do you suggest I could do, human?"

Elisa opened her mouth, but could find no words to speak.

"Tell me about your husband," Draco repeated his last question. "How did you meet, what is he like?"

Elisa smiled a little; happy to have a question she would have no trouble answering. "Well, he's not exactly what I'd call the average type husband… You see… he's a Gargoyle."

Draco cocked his eye-ridge at her. "Most unusual," he agreed. "I have never heard of a Human and Gargoyle pairing up before. But then again, I have been out of touch for quite a while."

Elisa shrugged. "Far as I know, Goliath and I are the only ones who ever have gone through with a marriage."

"That is your husband's name, Goliath?" Draco asked. "I recall the name… it was the name of a barbarian who attempted to kill a young boy, wasn't he?"

Elisa sighed. "He was named after a warrior giant, yes. But trust me, aside from the massive stature and the name; my Goliath and the original Goliath have absolutely nothing in common. Whereas the original was a bully and a savage, my Goliath despite his large size, is as gentle as a lamb… when he wants to be, that is."

"It must be nice to have someone like that by your side," Draco said honestly.

"It is," she confirmed.

Draco suddenly raised his head, and spoke. "I have made my decision!" he announced.

A second later, and all three women were once more standing in front of the ancient beast.

"I have made my decision," Draco repeated.

"So much for getting through to him," Elisa muttered. She looked around concerned, while Demona looked ready to fight, and Margot looked as though she had other things on her mind, though what could be more important than that was beyond Elisa.

"I have listened to your beliefs, your concerns, and your tasted you spirits," Draco continued. "Metaphorically speaking of course."

The three of them blinked.

"You each possess an overwhelming surge of unique strengths, beauties, and compassions, each in your own unique way," Draco told them. "I spoke with each of you, learned your life story through your own words, and your own memories… "

"You read our minds?" Demona hissed.

Draco shrugged. "It's as common a gift to me and my kind, as breathing is to yours, mortal."

Demona flashed her hell-fired eyes at him.

"My decision is final, and has been made… " Draco looked down at them, his eyes bearing right into theirs.

"I choose… " He thinned his eyes at them. "… Elisa Maza!"

**To Be Continued… **


	6. Second Chances: PART 22

_**All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.  
All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.**_

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

"You've gotta be kidding!" Elisa exclaimed.

"On the contrary," Draco replied. "I have never been more serious in my life. You have proved to be the most honourable of all the three here. I would be foolish not to accept you as my life-mate."

"Accept me?" Elisa grinded her teeth at him. "I never offered!"

"Oh, but I thought you liked being surprised, detective," Demona said, smirking at her.

Elisa glared at her momentarily. "Look, Draco… " Elisa sighed, trying to keep calm. "I am flattered, believe me, but… I can't be your mate. I already told you that I have a husband. We've been married for less than a month, or even a few weeks for Pete's sake."

"You have nothing to fear," Draco told her. "Any and all responsibilities you once had in the mortal world are now defunct. Your only purpose now exists in this reality, with me."

Elisa mentally growled. "Draco, I… "

"Is it fine for us to leave now?" Margot Yale suddenly asked, earning a few hard looks from the others. "Since you've got your new wife, are the rest of us free to go?"

Draco nodded. "You two may leave once I have replenished my powers to send you back."

"Thanks for the support, Miss Yale," Elisa said dryly.

"You will be returning home shortly," Draco explained, and then turned to leave.

"Hey!" Elisa cried out. "Where you going?"

Draco didn't bother to turn around. "I must rest for the coming spell to send you back, and for the ritual transformation."

"Ritual… _what_?"

Just as Draco was about to turn the corner, he turned his head back and looked at her. "How do you think Human women become mates to Dragons? No offence to your species, but if you and I were to mate in the forms that we are… Well, let's just say you would come out of the experience with more than your fair share of stretch marks."

Elisa gulped, while Demona smirked, and Margot blinked. Draco then left, his thunderous footsteps echoing away.

"Well, this is a first," Demona grinned. "Two weddings in less than a month. How _do_ you do it, detective?"

"Shut up, Demona!" Elisa snarled.

0000000000

**Bedford Hotel: **

Cecile Vene muttered some words, scattering some dust onto the circle drawn into the floor of their hotel room.

"Kauket, goddess of dark chaos, I call upon thee!"

A dark fire rose in the centre of the room, and soon the snake-headed Goddess of the land of Pharaohs appeared.

"_Things going well_?" she asked simply.

"Couldn't be better so far," Cecile said, smiling. "But now I have a request."

The snake-headed Goddess thinned her eyes at the small being. _"What kind of request?"_

"I have been making plans to take on the Gargoyles in this city," Cecile explained. "I have already secured some new minions, including that of a Dragon. The last one I sent out was… Well, let's just say it was a little too fragile compared to the clan."

"So what do you need me for? Yu know I can do nothing to aid in your fight against the clan."

"Against the clan, I ask for nothing, but… Pendragon, that's a different story."

Kauket smiled dangerously._ "What do you require?" _

"What help can you spare?"

Kauket sighed. _"Sadly, not a lot. No one these days even seem to believe in the ancient days when my kind and I walked the earth, bringing chaos, darkness and death to all mortals. But I do have a few cults here and there. Nothing special, as most of them are just brain-dead teenagers who like to dress up in voodoo masks, playing ceremony. But I suppose some of them could be useful in… " _

"No, wait," Cecile said, seemingly interested. "Exactly how loyal are these 'teenagers' to you?"

Kauket shrugged. _"Some more so than others." _

"Would you go so far as to say they might be… say, a little demented?" Cecile asked seriously. "Some people who would be willingly to do anything, if just for a small sign of the truth of your existence?"

Kauket laughed at that. _"These are Humans we're talking about here. You'll find people like that all over the place, particularly the states for some reason. But yes, I believe some of them can be… __**influenced**__ in that manner." _

"Then that could be just what we need, at least for dealing with Pendragon," Cecile smirked. "How soon can you make an appearance at one of their _meetings_?"

While they discussed their plans, Cecile didn't notice that Thailog was not in the room with her. He had grown tired of watching her perform magic, and was more interested in learning some himself. Cecile had decided to cast her latest summoning spell in the main room, as it was some adequate in size, and the last time she summoned Kauket, it had left her room a little too smoky.

The boys, Damien and Nathan, were trying out some of their own spells, controlling the weather to rain down a few razor-sharp icicles down on the unsuspecting public below their hotel room.

Thailog moved around Cecile's room, touching and sniffing at the artefacts there, some of which were thousands of years old. He found it astounding that she would carry such valuable items around with her, or that her elders would allow her to do so.

He approached the truck that she had brought with her, and after checking to make sure that she was still talking with the snakehead, Thailog opened it. Inside were some more ancient items, same as what was all around the room, nothing special.

Thailog pawned through the chest, growing frustrated. He had hoped there would be at least something in here that he could use, something that could either free him from the Venes's hold, or to use against them. But so far, he had zero for zero.

His eyes then fell upon a small plastic bag, filled with some kind of red dust. Curious, he picked the bag up, inspecting it closer. The bag had a label on it, saying 'Alucinor incursio'.

Thailog had been practising his Latin since coming to live with the Venes, so he recognised the words a little. He recalled that incursio meant something like 'invasion', and he wasn't sure, but he believed Alucinor meant 'dream', but he was still learning, so he wasn't 100% certain.

Remembering that Cecile had a book of magic, Thailog took the dust with him to the wardrobe where she kept the book. He soon found it, collecting dust at the bottom of the wardrobe. Seemingly, she hadn't used it quite a while. Since all her family had magic engrained into them from birth, keeping a spell-book must have seemed pretty meaningless.

Thailog opened the book, skimming through each of the pages quickly, looking for any reference to either of the words written on the bag, and eventually he found them.

The words did indeed mean 'Dream invasion', as that was what the dust was apparently used for. The dust acted as a sort of mystic coma-inducer, which would place the bearer in a deep sleep, and allow them to leave their body in a kind of astral, out-of-body experience. Once separated from their body, the bearer would then be able to enter the dreams of all those asleep, and be able to control them.

Thailog burrowed his brow in concentration, as he pondered this new bit of information. It wasn't the spell that he had been hoping for, but it might prove to be useful indeed.

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

"Demona, you're the one with the spells," Elisa told her former enemy. "So how the hell do I get out of this mess?"

Demona snorted. "What do you want me to do? I don't know of any spells to fight Dragons with, or any to cross worlds."

"What about… " Elisa began.

"Can't you just get your other precious Gargoyles to come save you," Margot suddenly mentioned, idly checking her nails. "Maybe even get your _husband_ to come help?"

Elisa turned to glare at her. "If they could do that, don't you think they would have done so already?"

Margot shrugged. "I wouldn't know," she replied. "Funny how they're always about, but never around when you really need them, isn't it?"

"Oh shut up, Human!" Demona snarled. "I'm sick of your whining!"

Margot glared back at her. "How dare you! I'll have you know… "

"Shut up, Margot!" Elisa shot back, shouting as loud as Demona had done. "She's right!"

Margot stared at her in shock.

"You might not remember this," Elisa continued. "But when Goliath first came to New York, one of the first things he did was save you and your husband's lives when you were mugged in your car, remember?"

Margot opened and shut her mouth, but said nothing.

"You've done nothing, but moan and whine since we got here, Margot," Elisa said hotly. "And I'm sick of it, too! Demona and I are less pleased to be here than you, but you don't see or hear us complaining. Instead of going on about how distressed you are, how about you try helping us to find a way out of here?"

"I have… " Margot began.

"And don't go on saying you've done your bit, because you haven't even come close!" Demona snarled.

Margot fumed. "I have just as much reason to get back home, as you do, detective!"

Demona barked out a snort of laughter. "HA! I don't think so… You spent your life dedicated to your career, defending those who did not deserve to have defence, all to give your career a needed boost. Your husband has left you, you have no family… Have you forgotten that we have families back home? Elisa, not just with her _Gargoyle husband_, as you call him, but also her parents, brother and sister, friends… And then there's my family, my two daughters, and grandchildren. What do you think will become of them if something were to happen to either of us?"

Margot's face had turned red with rage, but there was also a large seemingly emptiness in her eyes, too.

"Hey," Elisa waved her hand at Demona to silence her, and went over to the district attorney. "Sorry bout that. Demona's usually… " But she never got to finish, as Margot got up abruptly and stormed off down one of the caverns.

"Smooth, Demona," Elisa said, eyeing the immortal gruffly. "_Real_ smooth."

0000000000

**Destine Manor: **

Lana sighed, as she dangled her feet-claws over the edge of her grandmother's mansion's roof.

Her mother, Angela, and even Jarred were still inside looking through some old spell books from Demona's study. Despite Sarah Foster having told them that there was nothing they could do to bring her grandmother, Elisa and that lawyer woman back, they were still determined to try.

The door to the roof-entrance opened, and Lana heard someone approaching, but she didn't bother turning around to see whom it was.

"What you bring me, Gabriel?" she asked, smiling slightly. Her Gargoyle sense had grown more acute over the past few months, even more so since she had stopped trying to suppress them. Particularly her sense of smell, which was how she had known that it was Gabriel coming.

Gabriel smiled back at her, as he approached her, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate with him. "Your mother recommended these," he told her, handing her a mug. "She said it was the best way to calm your nerves."

Lana laughed. "She knows me only too well," she admitted, taking a sip. "Mmm, extra chocolaty, just how I like it. You do a good mug of chocolate, you know that."

Gabriel smiled. "I wish I could take full credit, but your brother helped."

Lana snorted. "Let me guess, he helped you while helping himself to all the chocolate in the tin for his own, right?"

Gabriel grinned sheepishly. "More or less," he admitted.

Lana shook her head. "Leave it to him. He never could pass up anything sweet. He's the only one on our family with a sweet-tooth as big as mine."

Gabriel sat down beside her, as he sipped his own mug. He raised his eye-ridges in surprise at the sweet taste, having never drunk hot chocolate before.

"Delicious," he told her, licking the chocolate off his lips. "Very, very… sweet."

"First time, huh?" Lana looked at him curiously.

Gabriel stared at her funnily. "Didn't we… Well, didn't we have our first time already together?"

Lana blushed. "I meant is this the first time you've ever had hot chocolate?"

Gabriel laughed, while Lana, realising he was joking, slapped his arm in irritation.

"We never had access to items such as sweets and chocolate on Avalon," Gabriel told her. "There were some exceptionally sweet fruits that grew there, but… nothing from the outside world. Tom, my Guardian, sometimes came back with some things, whenever he went to go check if Goliath and the rest of the clan had awakened yet, but those times were precious and few."

Lana shuddered. "To be deprived of something as precious as chocolate… sounds like a fate worse than death to me."

Gabriel laughed. "You need to get your priorities straight some day, my love."

Lana paused, as she was about to take another sip of her drink, and looked at him strangely.

"What?"

Lana gave a small smile. "Nothing," she replied. "It's just… I just like hearing you call me 'your love'. It sounds nice coming from you."

Gabriel took her clan, squeezing it gently. "Didn't anyone ever call you it before?" he asked.

Lana shrugged. "My folks of course, but as for boyfriends… One or two of them maybe, once or twice, but I think they were just saying it, hoping to get lucky with me. Coming from you… it sounds genuine."

Gabriel kissed her claw, looking deep into her eyes. "And it always will, now and forever," he swore to her.

Lana smiled again, much larger this time, and then she yawned.

"Are you alright?"

Lana nodded. "Yeah, just tired. All the gliding around the city wore me out a bit, and hot chocolate always makes me a little drowsy afterwards. I'll be fine."

"Maybe you should go take a nap?" Gabriel recommended.

Lana shook her head. "Nah, I'll be fine… "

"I insist," Gabriel said seriously.

But Lana refused. "What if something happens with Grandma and the others…?"

"Then I'll wake you," Gabriel took the mug from her, placing it on the ground, and pulling her up gently. "But you're not going to be much help to anyone if you keep nodding off to sleep."

Lana sighed. "But.. "

"No buts!" Gabriel said a little forcefully, but still full of care. "I think, under the circumstances, while your mother is busy, I should take responsibility for your well-being. So that means you should go get some rest, and that is final. Your mate has spoken!"

Lana cocked her eyebrow at him. "O-kay, I understand you're trying to help, Gabriel. I appreciate that, and yeah, I do feel a little sleepy, so I'll get catch a few Zs… " She raised herself on tiptoe, planting a kiss on Gabriel's cheek, earning a large grin out of him.

As she made her way to the door, she stopped briefly, looking back on him. "But if you ever pull any of that Alpha-male crap on me again, Gab… The next time you do, I'll see to it that you wake up one evening, missing some vital pieces of your _male_ anatomy."

With that, she turned back and walked through the door, leaving a blank-faced Gabriel behind in her wake.

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

Margot strode through the endless caverns of the Dragon's home, little caring about where she was going or where she was heading. The only thing that mattered to her was that she was getting as far away from the perverted detective, and the blue-skinned monster as possible.

The indignity, the sheer arrogance… How dare that redheaded freak presume to know anything about her! And how dare she make her out to be some sort of sad loner! She knew nothing about her…

But as Margot walked on, her steps slowing down, she began to realise something…

Although the Gargoyle called Demona has mostly just been in the heat of the moment, lashing out in frustration and anger at her, she had been right about one thing.

Margot realised with a shock that it was true, she did have no family, and aside from her colleagues at work, there was no one back home who would notice her departure. Not even her ex-husband Brendan who, knowing him, would probably sing praises for her disappearance.

Margot mentally shook herself, refusing to become overwhelmed. So what if she had no one back home to miss her, she still had plenty of time. It wasn't as if she was past it just yet…

"Ah, but what would be the point, if you never take the opportunity to talk to someone?" a deep voice spoke above her.

Margot recognised the unmistakable voice of the Dragon, but still she looked up into his huge eyes staring down on her. "I thought you were going to take some time out to prepare for your new bride?" she asked snidely.

Draco shrugged his massive shoulders. "There's still time," he replied. "I was wondering what you were planning to do next?"

"What do you mean?" Margot asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Now that your time here is spent," Draco explained. "What are your plans for the near or far future? What are your goals?"

Margot frowned. "Well, aside from trying to convince myself that I've not gone totally mad… I'll be getting back to work, obviously."

"Good start, and then what?"

Margot looked up, confused. "I… don't understand?"

"What do you intend to do after you return to work?" Draco asked again. "I mean, most people I've heard of have some kind of big plan for their future… For example, do you intend to get married, have children, maybe go on some big exploration around the world?"

Margot shrugged. "I suppose so, eventually, but not right now. My schedule… "

"Wouldn't allow it," Draco finished for her. "Yes, I know having offspring can be a terrible inconvenience, but… Tell me truthfully, is your work the only thing you have in your life?"

Margot looked up indignantly. "And what if it is? Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no," Draco said assuredly. "It just seems to be… a bit of a lonely existence to me, that's all."

"What would you know about… " she stopped, just realising how silly that sounded, considering who she was talking to.

"I believe that from over time, I have become quite the expert on loneliness, Miss Yale," Draco said dryly.

Margot shut her mouth. "Yes, I suppose you would be," she admitted.

"It has been my sworn duty," Draco continued, "as Supreme Dragon, to remain here, to watch over my home and all its secrets. But there has never been a single moment in time when I haven't yearned for escape, to see what'd beyond the barriers of this dimension, to fly through the winds of your home world… to meet and talk with your people. Anything that would deprive me of this aching void in my soul, what constantly reminds me of how alone I truly am."

"I thought you said you wanted us three here originally just so that you could die someday?" Margot said quietly.

"I still do, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't still want the company. It's a win-lose situation, Miss Yale. I desire death because I lack companionship, but I cannot die unless there is another Dragon to take my place. The only way I can do that is by finding a mate, give life to the new generation of Dragons, and then eventually pass away. And when and if that time comes by, I would no doubt by then be content in my new life, with my new family, and would not wish to leave them."

"Can't win, can't loose," Margot mused. "Stay as you are, you remain immortal, unbound to anyone, and never have to fear leaving your loved ones. Take a mate, and one day you'll be forced to face the situation to leave your loved ones forever."

"Exactly," Draco admitted. "But there really is no contest on what the choice should be."

"Why not?" Margot asked, honestly confused. "Isn't it better to live forever without getting your heart broken, than to loose anyone?"

"Not if the price is too high," Draco told her. "Living forever alone, is not living at all, it's just existing. Like a rock that spends its time in the ground, never ageing, never changing, and never doing anything besides observing all those around it."

Margot listened, truly listened for the first time in her life. "Why did you choose the detective?" she suddenly asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I just do… I mean, you knew Detective Maza was already married. I would have thought you would have chosen either me or the Gargoyle instead, when I learnt the truth about Miss Maza."

Draco sighed. "I chose her because she has a loving heart, a generous spirit, and the courage to tread into this new life with me alone. The Gargoyle definitely had all the strength needed for a Dragon mother, but her temper was, shall we say, a little too rough for my taste."

"What about me?" Margot finally asked what she had been secretly wondering since the Dragon had made his choice clear. "Why didn't you choose me?"

Draco looked deep into her eyes. "You were actually my first choice, but I wanted you to choose me willingly, not by force or need be."

"Why?" Margot asked shocked. "Because you knew there was no one back home who would miss me, unlike the others… "

"This has nothing to do with whether or not people will miss you, Miss Yale," Draco told her. "There have been Dragon Mothers before who, before they became Dragons, once had human families, friends and full lives. But they chose to come live in the Dragon World, to start a new life with us, not because they had to, or because we needed them to… but because they wanted, and _they_ _needed_ to."

"Needed?"

"Many mothers came from broken lives, where they felt all alone, under-appreciated, and soulless. They came to us, hoping for a new start in life, something that would their lives more meaning."

"As a lizard?"

"Technically, we're not lizards," Draco said defensively. "We don't do that thing they do with their tongues. But anyway, the mothers, they came to us because they chose to, not for any other reason. And being a Dragon is not just looking like I do, it means so much more than any mortal could comprehend."

"Like what?"

"It is difficult to put into words," Draco then reached down with his claw.

Margot jumped away in surprise, but Draco looked at her with a soft, comforting look. He said nothing, but his stare seemed to be telling her not to worry.

She stood still, and allowed Draco to bring his claw forward to her, where its tip lightly touched her one her forehead.

"Ohhh," Margot gasped, feeling the earth under her move. It was as though the whole world was shrinking, as she felt herself rise high above the stone-walls around her, and beyond the clouds, the sky, and even the stars.

"_We see more things than any mortal can see," _Draco's voice spoke to her from everywhere at once. _"Our world is not bound to just your world, Human, but to others as well. We have seen worlds of terrifying nightmares, unimaginable beauty, and others that were just plain strange. We have seen new stars come into creation, planets so large that they make yours look like a pebble, mere men transformed into Gods, and Gods turned into slaves… But what is the worth of all this knowledge, without anyone to share it with? We once went from world to world, but your kind was the one that most impressed us with your thirst for knowledge, which was why we chose to remain bonded to you, merging our two races into one." _

Margot felt their link slipping away. It was like falling to earth without a crash helmet, and being locked in a cell, a very confining cell with no escape.

"Couldn't you just find yourself a new race to bond with?" Margot asked, once her breath came back.

Draco shook his massive head. "Once we swear ourselves to someone, or something, we are bound to it forever. And although we see many other worlds, we cannot interfere with them. We can only view them, like you do with television. We made our choice long ago to interact with one and only one world, which was yours. There is no way to take back that decision now." With that, he turned around and prepared to walk away.

"Where… " Margot started.

"I have to go prepare, remember?" Draco told her without turning back around or stopping.

Margot watched him leave, and slowly sank to the floor, her thoughts all in a jumble. The images he had shown her were merely a taste of the knowledge he possessed. He had shown her many things, both wondrous and terrible, and he did it all without expecting anything in return.

Margot looked down at the huge footprints left behind in his passing, and thought…

0000000000

"So what have you got then?" Elisa asked in frustration. "Because I'm not too fond of the idea if becoming Mrs. Draco!"

"I have no such spells that can affect a Dragon, detective," Demona repeated dryly. "As far as I know, Dragon are impervious to magic, or at least that's what I've heard. For all I know, it could be false, but then again… Well, let's just say I don't want to take the risk of angering a giant lizard, okay?"

Just then, the slow booming steps of the Dragon in question soon reached their ears, and Draco entered the cavern.

"Demona," he spoke. "You are free to go whenever you wish."

Demona opened her mouth to speak, but stopped at the murderous glare she was getting from her former mate's wife.

"It would be so easy to just leave you here forever," she hissed. "But knowing my daughters, they would probably divulge the truth out of me before long, and then I would never live it down. They'd never let me."

"Draco!" Elisa spoke out loud, raising her voice high enough so that the Dragon could listen. "Listen to me, I sympathise with what you've been through. I know you desire only peace, and the continuation of your species. I am mated to one from a species that is going through the very same thing. But it is he who owns my heart, not you. I'm sorry, but I cannot agree to remain here and be your mate."

Draco looked at her sorrowfully. "I am truly sorry, Miss Maza, but I… "

"WAIT!" a voice louder than the previous two shouted.

The three of them looked in surprise at one of the cavern openings, and saw Margot standing there, starting defiantly at them.

"I have a proposal!" Margot announced, sounding as though she were just in another business meeting or court session.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Judge Judy," Demona muttered.

Draco just looked at her curiously, his eye-ride rose slightly at her. "Interesting," he only said, but listened keenly.

Margot seemed to take a moment to collect her thoughts, before taking a deep breath and looking Draco right into both of his large deep eyes. "I wish to take Detective Maza's place," she said clearly.

Demona eyed the attorney with a look of mild surprise, while Elisa just gasped seemingly in shock, and Draco just said and did nothing, but stare at her.

"Miss Yale," Elisa hissed at her. "Are you loco? If this is an attempt to look good just because of what Demona said… "

"No, detective, it is not," Margot said firmly. "Contrary to what you may think, my actions don't usually centre of what another person or persons say about me."

"Then why?" This question came from Draco of all of them, much to Elisa and Demona's surprise, as they would have expected him to be eager to accept anyone's willingness to join him as his mate.

Margot sighed. "Draco, you showed me a little of what your kind takes for granted, the knowledge of countless worlds, the sheer power of your race, and all the good and evil that it can do."

"So you desire to see more of what I have to offer," Draco deduced.

"Partly," Margot admitted, but didn't back down. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't what I wanted, but… there are other things as well."

"Like…?"

Margot sighed again, treading her feet nervously in the ground. "I suppose, in a way, deep down, you were right about some of the things you said about me… " She shuffled the earth a bit. "I won't bother going into detail of what you said, so let's just leave it at that," she said very quickly, obviously not wanting the others to learn of what had transpired between them earlier.

"And besides," she continued. "Like Demona said earlier… I have no one to miss me back home whereas Detective Maza, and apparently even the redhead do. So it stands to reason that I'm the most logical choice."

"Miss Yale, no!" Elisa spoke out. "You can't just throw your life away like that! Wait a while, and we'll find another way out of here. We have more than enough friends who have experience in mystical creatures. This Dragon is no exception, we'll… "

"SILENCE!" Draco's voice thundered through the caverns, causing everyone, including Demona, to back up more than a few paces.

Draco looked down on the former attorney. "Yu are sure about this? For once you make the final decision, there is no return ever. You will never be human again."

Margot took some more deep breaths, as she looked down at her feet, and at Draco's, before looking up at him… "I have made my choice."

"Miss Yale," Elisa protested.

"I've made my choice," Margot told her. "Don't make this any harder."

"But you can't… "

"I'm not just doing because of you, or even for that spiteful Gargoyle there," Margot insisted. "I'm also… Well, let's just say I wasn't finding what I wanted back home. Maybe I'll have better luck here."

"But you'll never be able to go home," Elisa told her.

Margot shrugged. "What home? I haven't had a home in years, just a place where I live. Trust me, it's better this way. This way, you both get to go home to your families, and I get to play the good guy for once."

"The decision is final," Draco announced. "This choosing has ended!"

"No, wait," Elisa held up her hands. "You can't expect us… OOF!" Elisa collapsed forward onto the ground, with Demona looking down on her from behind, from where she had struck Elisa at the back of her head.

Draco eyed her curiously. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

Demona shrugged. "If I hadn't, she wouldn't have stopped until she had convinced Miss Yale to return home with us. I personally couldn't care less whether she stays or not, but this way at least I get to go home, and I'll be damned if I'll let the detective here ruin that for me."

"Thank you for your sentiment," Margot said dryly.

Demona, instead of having an angry combat, just looked at her, seemingly in thought. "Are you really sure about this?" she finally asked.

Margot nodded. "Who knows?" she said. "I might get to learn flying someday."

Demona couldn't help, but smile at that.

"You may both return home now," Draco told her. "But before you go, I have something for you… "

"What?"

"The terms and traditions of the choosing is that the ones who brought the chosen ones are rewarded with insight and powerful knowledge," Draco explained. "But there is nothing in the law that says that the un-chosen ones do not get to share in that reward."

Demona looked at him, eyes widening. "What do you…?"

"The Venes thought they had taken my knowledge already, and with the promise of my first-laid, there wasn't anything else I could seemingly offer them. But there is still so much in this vast universe that they do not understand, or have yet to discover. I offer that knowledge now, to you… "

Demona looked up into Draco's eyes, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word… a shining light enveloped her, a bright light that seemed to be coming straight from Draco himself.

"Wha… " Demona began.

"_Relax," _Draco's voice spoke to her from inside her. _"Be still, listen, and learn!" _

0000000000

**Eyrie Building: **

Goliath stood at the highest tower of the old castle, atop the Eyrie Building, looking out over the endless skyscrapers and glass towers. He seemed to be watching out for something, anything that would give him a clue to the whereabouts of his mate.

"Where are you, Elisa?" he breathed out, a tear sliding down his cheek.

"Goliath?" a voice sounded behind him.

Goliath turned and found Brooklyn looking worriedly at him.

"Has there been any news?" Goliath asked hopefully. Despite what the Seer child, Sarah, had promised… he would not rest easy until Elisa was safe back home at his side.

Brooklyn sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing."

Goliath frowned in bitter grief.

"Don't loose hope, Goliath," Brooklyn said assuredly. "They haven't been gone long, and Sarah said they would be fine."

"I know, but… " Goliath began. "It's still hard not to worry about your loved ones, no matter how hard you want to believe that they're okay."

Brooklyn looked down at his feet-claws, idly twitching them.

"How is Darlene?" Goliath asked suddenly.

Brooklyn shrugged. "About as good as you, I suppose. Personally, I would have thought she'd be pleased to have a short time away from Demona."

"Brooklyn," Goliath said warningly. "Peace. I know we've had our differences with Demona in the past, but try to remember that she is Darlene _and_ Angela's mother. They are already worried enough about her, as much as they are for Elisa."

"I know, but… " Brooklyn started, but before he could say another word…

[WHOOSH!]

A large portal seemingly opened up right above them; it's a mouth a screaming vortex.

Goliath and Brooklyn instantly tensed up, their bodies prepared to fight, but there was no need. The portal lasted for no longer than a few seconds, just long enough for two shapes to come falling through, crashing into the ground before the two warriors, and then vanishing.

"Uhhh," a voice moaned.

"Demona!" Goliath bellowed, recognising the voice of his former mate immediately. He quickly looked to the second shape that had fallen through with her, and sure enough… Elisa's unconscious face was there, waiting for him.

Wasting no time, Goliath raced hurriedly to her side, whisking her up in his strong arms. "Elisa!" Goliath said anxiously, touching her face gently.

"Uhhh," Elisa stirred, her eyes fluttering open. "Wha… where am I?"

Goliath sighed in relief. "You are home," he told her. "You're free!"

"Free?" Elisa moaned, as she sat up, accepting Goliath's help. She rubbed her head painfully. "What happened?"

"We were hoping that you could tell us that?" Brooklyn asked, eyeing Demona with some distaste, but not saying anything to her. He was more concerned with how his leader's mate, and good friend, was doing.

Elisa groaned. "The last thing I remember… we were with Draco… "

"Draco?" Goliath asked.

"A Dragon," she told him. "Sounds weird I know, but… "

"No, we already know," Brooklyn told her.

"Huh, how?"

Brooklyn shrugged, while Goliath just explained. "Sarah Foster told us. She said you would be fine, and you would return soon, but she did not know when that would be."

Elisa opened her mouth to speak further, but then she seemingly recalled another memory… "Margot!" she exclaimed, standing the rest of the way up, casting an anxious look around her, but saw the district attorney nowhere.

"Demona!" Elisa glared at her clan's once largest enemy. "Where's Miss Yale?"

Demona just looked at her, seemingly uncaring. "Where do you think she is?" she said simply.

Elisa glared daggers at her. "You left her there!" she accused her.

Demona just continued looking at her, a vacant look in her eyes. Her eyes weren't even flaring red, as they usually did.

"She made her choice," she replied. "You tried to convince her otherwise, but she wouldn't hear of it. Her acceptance to remain with the Dragon allowed the two of us to escape without the need for a fight. All around, I think everything worked out for the best."

"I barely had a chance to talk her out of it!" Elisa hissed. "And you, you were hardly bending over backwards to try and help. You were perfectly happy to just let her stay there!"

"As I said… all around, everything worked out for the best. You and I are free, home, and Miss Yale has the chance to help out a species from becoming extinct, and inadvertently gain the chance for a new life."

Had Goliath not been embracing her, Elisa would be throwing herself on Demona right now, willingly tearing her into bits and pieces.

"So Margot was with you," Goliath deduced. "But… "

"It's a long story," Elisa sighed. "But right now, we've got other things to worry about. First of all, we need to talk to Puck, Sarah and whoever, and see if we can find a way to rescue Miss Yale before that 10 tonne lizard starts putting the moves on her."

"I doubt there is anything you, I or anyone else can do, detective," Demona said idly. "Is there hah been then don't you think the clan would have come to rescue us much sooner?"

Goliath's white-flared look glared at his former mate, but he said nothing to her. Instead, he looked to his present mate. "I'm afraid she is right," he told her. "We tried everything, from Puck to speaking to Sarah. Apparently, the Dragon world is beyond our reach."

"But… " Elisa felt weak. "We can't just leave her there. I mean, I know Margot Yale wasn't one of the clan's biggest supporters, but still… "

"I think she will be fine, detective," Demona turned around, heading over to the edge of the battlements. "Miss Yale seemed really intent on staying with Draco, and I think we should respect her decision. And like Goliath just said, Draco's world seems beyond our reach, so there is nothing really we can do."

"But… "

"But nothing," Demona stood out over the battlements. "It is done, so leave it! If you wish, have Puck or your little demon child try to find a way, but from now on, leave me out of it. I have my own worries to deal with, let alone having to worry about some spiteful attorney who bore my kind nothing but contempt!"

Demona prepared to take off into the night…

"Demona, wait!" Elisa suddenly cried.

Demona swore. "What?"

"While I was unconscious… " Elisa frowned, trying to remember. "That is, before I fell unconscious, we were still in Draco's world. I don't remember anything about coming home or anything. In fact, the next I remember was waking up here with Goliath. Did anything happen while I was out?"

Demona stiffened.

"_Be still, listen, and learn!"_

"No," she simply replied, and before anyone else could muster up a question… she leapt into the night air, and glided on her way home.

"Geez, and I thought she was bitchy before Darlene and her kids came to live with her," Brooklyn mumbled.

Goliath took Elisa's face in his own two enormous paws, and before she could even blink, he kissed her deeply.

"Mmm," Elisa moaned in surprise, but also in pleasure. "What was that for?" she asked.

Goliath smiled. "For coming back to me safely," he said, and then kissed her again, even longer and seemingly more pleasurable this time. "And that was an excuse to never leave me again."

Brooklyn rolled his eyes. "Okay then, I think I'll just go down and… " Goliath and Elisa continued kissing, ignoring him. "Yeah, I'll let them know you're back. Laters."

0000000000

**Dragon Dimension: **

"What did you give her?" Margot asked Draco, revering to Demona.

Draco sat down by a large rock-pool, smiling down at her. "Help," he simply replied, and said nothing else.

Margot twisted her fingers, gazing at them. "What happens now?"

Draco cocked his head. "For now, we be patient and wait. You have crossed one great ocean today, so for now you can take a little rest. But there are still many more bridges to cross."

Margot opened her fingers, listening to how her bones clicked and snapped, as they stretched themselves into their new form. "What will happen to me though… or what _is_ happening to me right now?"

"Your body is gradually preparing for the change," Draco explained. "It is a slow process, but that is usually the less stressful. It will give you able time to prepare your mind for all that is to follow."

"I feel funny," she said. "It's like a thousand words are going through my head. My eyesight is more acute, and I can hear everything that's happening in this cavern, this mountain, this very country!"

"Your mind, your Dragon mind, is taking hold, and becoming in tune to this land," Draco reached out his claw, and stroked the now scaled cheek of Margot Yale. "All Dragon Mothers are connected to the land, just as the supreme Dragon is."

"Are we meant to start bearing Dragon hatchlings now?" Margot asked, a little fearfully.

Draco smiled, but shook his head. "There's no hurry on that now. I have waited centuries for a companion, and now that I have one, I can wait a little longer. Besides, it is best that you take one step at a time and not allow yourself to be overwhelmed."

Margot looked up, the pupils of her eyes turned into thin slits, like a reptile. "That's a relief," she said, smiling slightly. "I'd hate to start thinking of motherhood so soon, what with having lost my humanity already."

Draco gave a short laugh. "There are still many things you have yet to experience, as a Dragon. Motherhood can wait. I merely showed you a glimpse of a Dragon's benefits… Come, let me show you the rest!"

He reached out with his claw, lifting the former Human, Margot Yale, up in it. And Margot listened with her mind, as Draco poured his knowledge into her…

"The stars," she breathed, as lights danced around and through her. "Oh, Draco… they're beautiful."

0000000000

**Destine Manor: **

Lana sighed, as she lay out on the silk-satin sheets of her bed, its smooth texture gently rubbing against her skin. Although she no longer required a bed for sleeping, seeing as she turned to stone now every day, Lana still found it very relaxing to sleep on a bed, especially with silk-satin to lie in.

"_My love,"_ a deep voice spoke to her.

Lana lifted her head dreamily, and saw a dark Gargoyle shape standing at her open door. "Darling," she smiled, beckoning her lover to come closer.

The dark shadowy figure responded, walking closer toward her, his feet-claws barely making any sound on the tiled floor.

"_I missed you,"_ he said, lying down on the bed beside her.

"Now half as much as I've missed you," Lana stroked his strong set face, fingering the horns on his eye-ridges.

"_We will never be apart again,"_ he said, lowering his face to hers. _"Not now, not ever, and never again!" _

Lana moaned in pleasure, as his talons gently stroked her. "I sincerely hope so," she replied, and licked her lips, eager for his kiss.

Wasting no time, Thailog moved his head down and touched her with his lips…

0000000000

"UHHH!" Lana sat up in bed, gasping. Her breaths coming out ragged, as she struggled to get her breathing under control.

"Lana?" a knock came at her door.

"Who is it?" Lana near screeched, grabbing the bedsheets and hugging them to her chest.

A short pause occurred, and finally whoever it was answered. "It's me Gabriel, are you all right?"

Lana rubbed her forehead, still breathing deep and slowly. "I'm fine, what is it?" she asked.

"We just received word from the clan at the Eyrie," he told her through the door. "Your grandmother and Elisa are both fine. Your grandmother is on her way home now."

"Oh, err, great!" she said seemingly relieved. "I'll be out in a minute, I just… I need to change! Wait for me in the living room, okay?"

"Err, very well," Gabriel replied. "I shall see you there." The sound of footsteps echoed away, and soon Lana was alone once more.

Lana stayed where she was, sitting up in bed, hugging the sheets closely. She looked all around her room, but saw nothing amiss.

"God, no," she whimpered, burying her face in her claws. "Not again!"

**To Be Continued… **


End file.
